


Something's Missing

by FlashBastard



Series: Married Life [4]
Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Anniversary, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Character Death, Miracles, Other, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2020-10-10 07:10:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 23,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20524001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlashBastard/pseuds/FlashBastard
Summary: It's their fifth anniversary and Crowley tells Aziraphale what he wants.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after The Wedding.

Shortly after the wedding, Crowley and Aziraphale talked the owners of Jasmine Cottage into selling it to them. The fact that they were offering three times market value might have had something to do with it. They just both really loved Tadfield and Aziraphale had a strong feeling that Adam was partially responsible for that. When Aziraphale expressed his desire to stay in Tadfield, a discussion started that ended with the book shop being given over to Anathema and Newt to run. Aziraphale still owned the shop and had given them a list of books that were not to be sold under any circumstances.

That had been five years ago. Crowley had been maintaining the garden since they moved in and it was the most lush and beautiful garden in the whole of Oxfordshire. Whenever he was asked about how he managed it, he told them that the plants did most of the work, he simply encouraged them. This usually got him very strange looks but he didn't care. He certainly couldn't tell anyone that his plants were terrified of disappointing him. 

Crowley was sitting at the little kitchen table staring out the window and trying to figure out what it was that he was feeling. There was something in the back of his head that kept poking at him but he wasn't quite sure what it was. And it wasn't just at the back of his head. There was something deep down inside that was like an itch that he just couldn't scratch. He needed to figure it out or it would just keep bothering him.

"Happy anniversary, darling." Aziraphale said as he came up behind Crowley and put a little present down on the table in front of him. He wrapped his arms around Crowley's shoulders and kissed his neck softly.

"Is it? I'm sorry, I completely lost track." The days seemed to all be running together the last couple of months.

"That's quite alright, dear. And you don't have to worry. You gave me an absolutely fantastic gift this morning." He smirked a little and kissed Crowley's neck again. Crowley chuckled softly.

"Well, I would hope you enjoyed that." He shifted a little in his seat so that he could give Aziraphale a kiss on the lips.

"Go on. Open it." Aziraphale kissed back before standing up straight and going around to sit across from Crowley. He'd actually been searching for a few weeks to get him what he thought would be the perfect gift. He'd also done a bit of research to make sure that it was the traditional fifth anniversary gift. Crowley opened the box and inside was a little wooden key chain that had their initials engraved on it as well as their wedding day. He picked it up and looked at it for a moment.

"Wood is the traditional fifth anniversary gift, dear." Aziraphale smiled.

"Well, then what I gave you this morning really was perfect." Crowley said with a wink and a smirk. The smirk changed to a grin when Aziraphale turned bright red.

"Yes, quite." Aziraphale cleared his throat. He then looked at Crowley a bit hopefully. Crowley leaned across the table and gave Aziraphale a quick kiss on the lips.

"I love it, thank you." He kissed Aziraphale one more time before sitting back in his seat, chuckling at the relief that showed on the angel's face.

"So, my darling. What shall we do today? I thought perhaps we could head into London for the day. There's a new restaurant I would love to try. If you're amenable of course." Aziraphale smiled.

"Yes, that sounds wonderful." Crowley nodded, looking at the key chain for a moment. It really was a very thoughtful gift. That was Aziraphale. Thoughtful and kind and loving and the most adorable of beings in existence. And then there was that little itch deep down inside again. Something that just wasn't going to leave him alone.

Crowley had actually obeyed the speed limit for most of the trip from Tadfield to London. He considered it his little gift to Aziraphale. The angel wouldn't have a heart attack and could get a nice look at the scenery along the way. And Aziraphale had rather enjoyed the trip. They spent part of the day at a museum as the restaurant that Aziraphale wanted to go to was open for dinner only. After the museum, Aziraphale wanted to stop by the shop. It had been a pleasant visit with Anathema and their two children. Newt was off running some kind of errand that Crowley hadn't really been paying attention to. He was too busy watching the kids play together.

Dinner was absolutely wonderful and everything that Aziraphale had expected. On this particular occasion Crowley had even joined him in the meal and he did enjoy it. They'd even ordered dessert even though Aziraphale feigned being far too full to eat it, though he'd eaten every last bite. Except for the three that Crowley had taken, of course. They went for a walk after dinner and just enjoyed the evening air before making their way back to the car and heading home to Tadfield. Not needing sleep meant it didn't matter what time it was when they started to head home. 

That same feeling had been bothering Crowley all day. He was a bit quiet on the drive home, trying to go over what could possibly be causing it. When he went through the events of the day, he realized something. The feeling had been at its absolute strongest during the visit with Anathema. Both of the kids had hugged him before going off to play and it was like a million alarms went off in his head, but he'd just ignored it. 

"Something bothering you, dear? You've been awfully quiet." Aziraphale said when they got back to the cottage. He took off his coat and hung it by the door. 

"No....I mean....possibly....well....yeah." Crowley finally gave in and sighed as he removed his own jacket. Aziraphale took it from him and hung it next to his. He walked over and gave Crowley a quick kiss on the lips, putting his hands on his shoulders. 

"What is it, dear? You know you can tell me anything." Aziraphale smiled as he moved a hand up to Crowley's cheek. Crowley took off his sunglasses so he could look Aziraphale in the eye as he finally gave a voice to what had been bothering him all day long, and if he were honest for quite a while before that. 

"I want a baby." He braced himself as he waited for Aziraphale's response. 

"Oh." Said quietly was the only response Aziraphale gave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discussion is had

"Oh? That's all you have to say? Just.....oh?" Crowley backed away from Aziraphale.

"I'm sorry, darling. It is quite a lot to process." Aziraphale sighed a little. "A baby is....well that is quite a lot."

"It's no different than when we were raising Warlock." Crowley shrugged. "We did that just fine."

"He wasn't actually our child, darling. We did get days off and we weren't around for his entire life." Aziraphale moved over and put his hands on Crowley's hips, looking up at him. "And....I'm not even sure that it's possible."

"Why not? We can miracle anything into existence, how is this any different?" He put his hands on Aziraphale's shoulders. He hadn't realized exactly how much he'd wanted it until he said it out loud.

"We're not God, Crowley. We can't just...create a baby." Aziraphale gave him a little smile.

"That's not what I meant, Zira. It's not." He didn't want to just have a child randomly appear in their house.

"Then what are you suggesting?" Aziraphale started to gently stroke Crowley's sides with his thumbs. Crowley gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I used to have these dreams....all those years ago. When we were taking care of Warlock." He closed his eyes as he thought back. "That I was his mother, not Mrs Dowling." He kept his eyes closed. He didn't want to see the look on Aziraphale's face. "She didn't deserve him." Crowley muttered.

"Oh my sweet love." Aziraphale kissed Crowley again. "You do remember that I had to talk you out of kidnapping him on multiple occasions." It was said, not asked.

"Yes, I remember." Crowley said with a smile, finally opening his eyes.

"So you want to actually have a child? The whole process?" Aziraphale tilted his head.

"Yes. All of it. From the very beginning." Crowley nodded. If he were honest with himself he'd admit that it was something he'd been curious about for a very long time. 

"I'm not sure that can even happen, dear. We're not.....made that way." Aziraphale said sadly. 

"But, we could be, couldn't we?" Crowley raised an eyebrow. "It's really just a matter of imagination." 

"Do you think so?" Aziraphale hadn't really thought about it. Could they actually have a child together. Crowley gave Aziraphale another kiss on the lips. 

"All we can do is try. The worst that can happen is nothing at all." There was a part of Crowley that was terrified that it wouldn't happen. That he would just have to be happy being the weird uncle to other people's children. Aziraphale was silent for a few moments, just looking into Crowley's eyes. He put a hand on his cheek again. There were a few things that Aziraphale thought of that could be worse than nothing at all but he kept those fears to himself. 

"Alright." He smiled. "We'll try." He gave Crowley a long kiss, holding him close. When the kiss broke, where there had been a tall, slender man standing in front of him there was now a beautiful woman. Just as tall and just as amazing. He had a little flashback to one of the times he'd seen Nanny Ashtoreth "after hours" with her hair down and wavy. "I love you, my darling." 

"I love you, too." Crowley said with a bright smile on her face. Suddenly that strange feeling deep down inside wasn't there anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley does still pray from time to time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point forward Crowley will be referred to with female pronouns.

Crowley took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she looked at herself in the mirror. Her long, red hair was currently wet from a shower and she just stood there with a towel wrapped around her. 

"Coffee, darling?" Aziraphale asked and he tried not to laugh when she jumped, letting out a little squeak. 

"How are you so quiet?" Crowley asked, taking the mug of coffee and taking a sip before giving Aziraphale a kiss. 

"Comes with being an angel, I suppose." Aziraphale said with a shrug after kissing back. "And....how are you feeling today?" He asked before sipping the cup of cocoa he'd made for himself. It had almost become a routine. 

"The same." Crowley shrugged and put the cup of coffee down on the counter before picking up her brush and slowly brushing her damp hair. "Exactly the same." 

"Ah. Perhaps it's just bad...." Aziraphale started. 

"Darling, please don't. I know you mean well but I really don't want to talk about it right now." To take a little of the sting out of her words, Crowley gave Aziraphale another quick kiss. "Is breakfast ready?" 

"Any moment now." Aziraphale nodded. He had learned a long time ago to drop any subject that Crowley was unwilling to discuss. One more stolen kiss and then he was back downstairs to finish up cooking. Crowley just stared at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair, sighing slightly. 

In all of the many, many years since Crowley had sauntered vaguely downward there was one thing that hadn't changed. One habit that had been picked up in Heaven that had never been put down again even in Hell. One thing that made Crowley very different from every other demon and that one thing was praying. Even if God wasn't listening, Crowley still prayed whenever times got particularly hard. 

After Crowley's hair was brushed and pretty much dried, and she'd gotten dressed in one of Aziraphale's shirts and a pair of leggings, she lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She folded her hands together over her stomach and just looked up for a long time. 

"I know you probably don't want it to happen. The idea of a demon and an angel having a child. Or celestial beings have children at all. It's not what you made us for. And we're not on the best of terms, I get that. Averting the apocalypse and all that. If Gabriel and Beelzebub are right I'm very certain that you actually hate the two of us. Though I don't remember you being very big in the hate department. Love was more your thing, right?" She sighed and closed her eyes, her thumbs lightly stroking the material of the shirt she was wearing. 

"Love is so amazingly important. It holds the world together. The love that people have for each other. The love that I have for Aziraphale. I bet you never thought in all the millennia that a demon could actually love. Especially an angel. But it's there. And I know that you can feel it. That you can see it. I love Aziraphale with everything that I am. I would go to the ends of the universe for him. I would happily die for him if it were necessary." Her voice started to shake a bit as she spoke. She opened her eyes and just kept them up at the ceiling. At the sky. She imagined that God was up there just looking down on everything and picking who she wanted to listen to. Which prayers she wanted to answer. 

"Please, Lord. I am asking you. No, I am begging you." She cleared her throat. "We've been trying for months. And I know that humans quite often try for years before anything happens but we're not humans. Every night I go to bed hoping that I'll wake up and find out I'm pregnant and every morning I'm always disappointed." Crowley reached up and wiped a few tears from her eyes. 

"If it's not in your plan, if our attempts to make a child together are going to be completely fruitless, then please tell me now. Give me some kind of sign that this is all an exercise in futility. Because the worst thing that you can ever give someone is false hope. And I thoroughly believe that while you have done some questionable things since the beginning of time, that you are not that cruel. Please. I just need to know if there is any point in us continuing to try." She wiped at her eyes again and rolled over onto her side. Crowley felt things a lot more deeply than she ever let on and sometimes it just got to be too much. 

Aziraphale had been about to knock on the bedroom door when he'd heard his wife talking. At first he thought perhaps she was on the phone but then he really heard what was being said. He just stood there in the hall, listening to the conversation that Crowley was having with God and it broke his heart. Hearing her so desperate, so upset. He rested his forehead against the door frame and closed his eyes, sniffling a bit himself. 

"Please, Lord, don't let her suffer anymore. Let her be happy. Please." The words were whispered before he turned and went back downstairs to keep their breakfast warm. 

That night as they made love, not to make a baby but just as an expression of their love for each other, neither of them noticed the bright white light that briefly shone on them from above.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit to Anathema reveals some good news.

It had been six weeks since Crowley's prayers and she still felt like everything was the same. She had noticed that Aziraphale was slightly more attentive than usual, if that were possible, but that was all. She couldn't tell if anything had changed. And there had been no signs, nothing that told her she needed to stop trying. At least nothing obvious. Sometimes she didn't pick up on hints so she wondered if maybe the sign had come and gone and she'd missed it. 

They were spending the day in London again. Aziraphale always seemed to get a bit antsy if they'd gone more than a month without visiting the bookshop. He trusted Anathema but he just missed his books. And of course Crowley wasn't just going to sit in the cottage by herself. It would lead to a great deal of moping and she wanted to avoid that. Moping never did anyone any good at all. 

Newt was the one to greet them as they came into the shop. A firm handshake for Aziraphale and a quick kiss on the cheek for Crowley. He treated them the same way he treated his parents. It was kind of sweet. 

"Anathema's in the back." He said, pointing toward the back room. 

"I'll go say hello." Crowley said with a smile. She gave Aziraphale a quick kiss on the lips before heading to the back room. She knew that Aziraphale would want to talk to Newt for a bit.

"Anathema, dear? Are you in here somewhere?" Crowley asked as she went into the back room and looked around. Anathema popped up from behind a stack of boxes off to one side of the room. 

"Sorry. I just...there's a lot to go through." Anathema smiled and then walked over to give Crowley a hug. "Ten boxes of books came in today." She chuckled. 

"That is certainly a lot." Crowley nodded. "So, where are your lovely children?" 

"My parents are visiting. They took them out for the day. Give us a little break." Anathema smiled. There was something different about Crowley and Anathema couldn't quite put her finger on it. 

"Oh, well. We'll be here for most of the day so perhaps I can see them later." Crowley nodded. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, dear." She said after realizing how it all sounded. Anathema chuckled. 

"It's quite alright. I don't mind them getting all of the attention." She went over to a bookshelf on the other side of the room to get a book that Aziraphale had asked for. When she turned around, and got a full look at Crowley, she finally put the pieces together. 

"Oh my god, you're pregnant...." Anathema said, the book now forgotten. 

"I'm sorry, what?" Crowley's eyes went a little wide. 

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Anathema said a little more quietly before she came back over to Crowley. "I can see it. Your aura. It's different. And there's a smaller one. Wow this is....oh wow." She smiled brightly. Crowley looked down at her stomach, placing her hand there gently. 

"Are you absolutely certain?" Her voice shook a little bit. Could it be true? 

"I...well yes. There's no disguising auras." Anathema was suddenly a bit concerned. She put a hand on Crowley's upper arm. "Are you.....okay? I mean....." She let it trail off. Crowley sniffled and looked at Anathema. 

"I'm very okay." She nodded. "I'd almost given up. We've been trying for so long..." She cleared her throat. She honestly didn't think she could be any happier than she was right that moment. The only time that had come even close was their wedding day. 

"Well, congratulations." Anathema squeezed Crowley's arm gently. Crowley pulled her into a tight hug, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. That was the moment when Aziraphale walked into the back room, now suddenly very confused. 

"Is everything alright, dear?" There was no missing the concern in his voice. Crowley let go of Anathema and went over to give Aziraphale a kiss on the lips, holding his face in her hands. 

"Everything is absolutely perfect, my love." She said and kissed him again. 

"I have no idea what's going on." Aziraphale admitted with a little bit of a chuckle. Crowley took one of his hands and placed it on her belly, smiling brightly at him. 

"You're going to be a father." She said as more happy tears spilled from her eyes. 

"I....really? You're sure?" Aziraphale looked between Crowley and Anathema. 

"Auras never lie." Anathema said with a nod. 

"That is absolutely brilliant." Aziraphale grinned before kissing Crowley again. His hand stayed on her belly for a moment. They were going to be parents. It was both wonderful and scary at the same time but he truly couldn't have been happier.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A doctor's visit and some interesting news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first version of this chapter actually involved the doctor's visit but it felt forced and just didn't sound right when I reread it.

After the visit, Anathema had given them the number of a doctor that would not be surprised by their circumstances. He dealt with occultists regularly and wasn't phased by the idea of angels and demons actually existing. Crowley had called the next morning and was able to get an appointment for the same day. 

The appointment went rather smoothly, aside from Aziraphale being a little overprotective for some strange reason. The biggest shock from the whole thing was finding out they were actually having twins. Aziraphale had nearly fainted when the doctor explained they were lucky it was only two given Crowley's serpent biology but she'd managed to calm him down. 

"Twins." Aziraphale said quietly as they got into the car and started back to Tadfield. "Do you think we can handle twins?" He looked at Crowley who seemed far calmer than Aziraphale assumed she should be. 

"Two of us against two of them. I think we'll be fine." She chuckled, keeping her eyes on the road. 

"Right, of course." Aziraphale nodded and turned back to look out the window. He was more than a little scared. Not just because they were having twins but because their children would be the only ones of their kind. The doctor had called them daemons and had said they were simply folklore up to this point. He'd also explained that they would be born either male or female and would eventually grow into being more fluid in the gender department. Or so the lore told, anyway. 

"Everything is going to be fine." Crowley said, reaching over to take Aziraphale's hand. She took a brief moment to kiss his knuckles before turning her eyes back to the road. 

"How can you be so sure?" Aziraphale did smile a little bit at the kiss to his hand. He didn't understand how she could be so relaxed. 

"She wouldn't have let this happen only for something to go wrong." Crowley had to believe that God wasn't that cruel. She wouldn't have given them these children just to take them away before they were born. She did notice Aziraphale relax a bit. 

"I hadn't thought of that." He nodded and squeezed Crowley's hand gently. He'd lost a little bit of faith in God with the whole Armageddon situation but then he hadn't actually been speaking to God, had he? And she certainly would have done everything in her power to stop what was happening if she didn't want it to. 

The drive back to the cottage was actually rather relaxing but Crowley was definitely happy to be home. As soon as they got inside, she texted Anathema about the appointment. 

"I'm going to go take a shower." Crowley said before giving Aziraphale a little kiss on the lips. "Will you make some tea?" She put her hand flat against Aziraphale's chest and smiled sweetly at him. 

"Of course, my dear." He kissed her again before heading to the kitchen. Once Crowley was in the shower, she stood there with the water running over her body, eyes closed. 

"Please let everything be okay." She said softly. She'd wanted to stay strong for Aziraphale. One of them had to keep calm while the other one panicked. She was very worried, though. After a moment the room seemed to get a little bit lighter and there was a sense of calm that fell over Crowley. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, lifting her head a bit and smiling softly. 

"Thank you." She whispered before completing her shower. Everything really was going to be okay.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley is getting bigger.

The problem with having twins, Crowley noticed, was that you got bigger faster than if it was just one child. She had just entered her second trimester and she already looked like she was about seven months along. It seemed like every other day she'd had to miracle an extra size into her clothes. And then there was Aziraphale's reaction to her growing belly. 

Every single night she was awakened by his hand resting on her belly. Especially since she was only able to sleep on her side now. She could sleep through an entire century but she was awakened easily by just a simple touch. Anathema had explained that it was the maternal instinct. It was the beginning of preparing to be woken up by any tiny little sound the baby made. She just wished that Aziraphale wouldn't insist on touching her belly so often. 

"Darling." Aziraphale said as Crowley came down the stairs after a nap. He'd stayed downstairs to read and to start dinner. 

"Yes, my love?" Crowley said with a smile. She tried to remember that his attentiveness stemmed from being protective of her and the babies. That he was doing it out of love, not to be frustrating. 

"You're wearing different shoes." He bit his lip as he got up and came over to the stairs. The look on Crowley's face was enough to get him to just miracle the shoes the same so that she didn't have to try to go back and change shoes. 

"This is only going to get worse." Crowley said with a little sob as she finished going downstairs. Aziraphale started to move in for a hug. "You won't be able to get your arms around me." She sniffled. 

"I promise I can." Aziraphale said with a smile and moved around behind Crowley. Not only did his fingers touch but he could overlap them a little bit. He kissed her neck softly and smiled. "See? You're not that big at all." Crowley put her hands over Aziraphale's. 

"I'm sorry that I'm getting so emotional." She sighed and leaned back against him a little bit. Aziraphale just held onto her, kissing her shoulder. 

"You have nothing to apologize for, my love." He smiled. "You're growing two beings inside you, Crowley. That's not easy." He kissed her shoulder again. "Now, how about I make some tea and then I massage your feet while we watch a movie?" 

"Have I told you that you're the best husband ever?" She asked before turning in his arms and giving him a kiss on the lips. 

"Not today, no." He chuckled softly, giving her another kiss. "But I appreciate the sentiment." He leaned down gave her belly a quick kiss before going to make the tea.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale is away on business and Deirdre Young comes to the rescue.

Deirdre Young had been spending some time with Crowley since Adam went off to university. It started out as an attempt to get to know the woman that her son seemed to be so fond of. That and to add to Deirdre's very short list of female friends. Over a short time, though, a real friendship had developed. Deirdre found herself actually anticipating going over to visit the woman she knew as Anna. 

Crowley had come up with the name Anna on a lark when Deirdre asked her. It was similar to Anthony, wasn't it? Similar enough. She really did like Deirdre. She liked listening to Deirdre complain about Arthur and she would bring updates about Adam. It was really nice having another friend. They'd actually gotten close enough that Crowley decided to be completely honest with Deirdre about everything. 

"I'm a demon, actually." She said, pulling down her sunglasses and letting Deirdre actually look at her eyes. Deirdre made an excuse to leave rather quickly. She'd taken an entire week to process what she'd been told. So Anna was a demon. But she was very nice, and their talks were always wonderful. At the end of the week, right when Crowley was convinced that Deirdre had been scared away for good, she showed up at the cottage with a cake, an apology, and a request that Arthur never find out. 

Deirdre had also been very supportive during the whole ordeal of them trying to get pregnant. She'd offered some advice that actually made sense and gave Crowley a perspective that no one else had. She'd also celebrated with Crowley at the announcement that not only was she pregnant, but she was having twins. 

"That is absolutely brilliant!" Deirdre grinned and gave her friend a hug. "I'm so happy for you, dear." 

"I was wondering if perhaps you'd be willing to take an extra key to the house. For emergencies. Zira travels quite a lot and he gets worried." Crowley held out the small, copper key. 

"Of course I will." It meant a lot for them to trust her this way. She took the key and added it to her key chain. The only other key being that to her own house. 

That exchange had been a few months ago. Aziraphale was on his way to London for business matters and Crowley was far too big to make the trip comfortably. The babies weren't due for another couple of weeks so he felt comfortable leaving her at home. Especially with Deirdre nearby and able to help if needed. Deirdre knew what it was like to be heavily pregnant and home on her own so she decided to pay her friend a visit. She knocked on the door, then raised an eyebrow when she got no answer. 

"Anna, dear? Are you home?" She called out. She couldn't imagine that her friend would have gone very far. 

"Deirdre! Thank Satan. I need some help!" Crowley called from what sounded like the direction of the living room. Deirdre tried the door and found it unlocked, coming in. 

"Anna?" 

"Over here." The sound was coming from the couch. "I think I need a bit of help." She sounded almost scared. Deirdre headed around the couch and stopped at the end when she got a good look at her friend. She was wearing her usual attire of an over sized shirt and a pair of leggings. Her leggings seemed to be soaked all down the front. 

"Did you have an accident, dear?" Deirdre asked and when Crowley shook her head, her eyes went wide. "Oh goodness, your waters broke...." 

"I've been trying to get hold of Zira but he's got his phone turned off." She tried to get up and Deirdre sat next to her, keeping her still. 

"Are you having contractions?" 

"About twenty minutes apart right now." Crowley answered, her hands going to her belly. This whole idea of it had been terrifying enough without thinking about Aziraphale not being there. 

"Alright. There's still plenty of time. I'll go get Arthur and we can get you to the hospital, okay?" She patted Crowley's hand. 

"There's a special hospital I have to go to. Arthur won't know anything's different." She winced a little as a contraction hit. They weren't so bad just yet, but she knew they'd be getting worse. 

"Alright, that's fine. You tell Arthur where to go and he'll take you there." They were both very fortunate that it was Arthur's day off. "Just let me go get him..." Deirdre started to stand up and Crowley grabbed her arm. 

"Can you call him? Please?" She hadn't been that scared in a very long time and she didn't want to be alone just then. Deirdre offered a smile and pulled out her phone, calling Arthur and telling him what was going on. He agreed to bring the car around and then Deirdre put her phone away. 

"He's on the way, dear. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine." Deirdre patted Crowley's hand again. Crowley looked down at her belly and then back up at Deirdre. 

"What if they look like me?" She bit her lip. She was trying not to cry. 

"Then they'll have beautiful red hair that everyone will be envious of." Deirdre smiled reassuringly. 

"That's not....you know that's not what I mean." Crowley closed her eyes for a moment before looking at Deirdre again. 

"Let's take this one step at a time, alright? We need to get these two into the world before we worry about what their lives will be like when they're in it." She reached up and moved a bit of hair away from Crowley's face. "And at the very, absolute least these babies will have their mother, and their father, and their Auntie Deirdre to love them." She chuckled softly. "And Adam, of course. Would that make him their cousin?" 

"Maybe." The question did manage to get Crowley to laugh a bit. Deirdre was a savior for sure. Arthur honked the horn when he pulled up outside the cottage and Deirdre rolled her eyes. 

"Oh, that man." She went to the door and poked her head out. "You need to come help me get her to the car, you idiot!" She yelled before going back into the cottage. She grabbed Crowley's sunglasses from the table by the door and brought them over for her to put on. 

"Thank you so much, Deirdre." Crowley smiled. 

"Any time at all, Anna." Deirdre said before Arthur made his way into the cottage. It only took about ten minutes to actually get Crowley and her hospital bag into the car and on their way to the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins are born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't go into detail about the whole birth process but some of it is described. There's also significant angst in this chapter. Just as a warning.

There had been absolutely no argument when Arthur said he would stay out in the car. Neither Crowley nor Deirdre wanted him to go into the hospital that helped supernatural beings. Deirdre would have to explain things she wasn't quite sure Arthur would actually understand. By the time they'd gotten to the hospital, the contractions were five minutes apart. Things were progressing rather quickly, it seemed. 

"Deirdre, will you come in with me. Please." Crowley asked as the nurses were taking her vitals and getting her ready. She tried very hard not to sound like she was begging. Deidre moved over to the bed, trying to stay out of the way of the nurses, and took Crowley's hand. 

"Of course, dear." She smiled, glad to be of help. She was glad that they weren't at that hospital with those ridiculous nuns. Refusing to let anyone else in the room was foolish. 

"Thank you.....oh for Satan's sake!" Crowley squeezed Deirdre's hand as a contraction hit. She held back as much as she could with her strength, not wanting to break the poor woman's hand. This one was a particularly bad one. 

"Looks to be about four minutes apart. Things are moving along rather nicely indeed." The nurse said. She left the room and a few minutes later the doctor came in. 

"Drugs. You said something about drugs. I can have drugs, right?" Crowley asked. The doctor looked at her apologetically. 

"I'm sorry, we've passed that window, I'm afraid. You said that when you headed this way the contractions were fifteen minutes apart?" He made some notes in the file. "And how long did it take you to get here?" 

"An hour and a half." Deirdre answered. "Is that....is it normal for things to be going this quickly?" She was a little concerned. 

"Normal is a bit relative in this situation." The doctor said, taking a look at Crowley. The lack of sunglasses meant that the woman holding her hand was aware she wasn't human. "But it is a little unusual. Nothing to worry about, though." He smiled. 

"And what about the fact that they're early?" Crowley had been worrying about that since her waters broke. 

"That's nothing to worry about at all. They're only two weeks early and twins come early all the time." He walked over and patted Crowley's arm. "Everything is fine, I promise." He grinned and then winced when Crowley grabbed his arm and squeezed hard as another contraction hit. He looked at his watch. "Right, I'll get the nurses. You're going to be pushing very soon." He then left the room. 

Deirdre was positioned sitting on the bed behind Crowley when the pushing started. She rubbed her arms and encouraged her. Everything that she'd wanted Arthur to be there for when she'd given birth to Adam. While there hadn't been much time between the start of the contractions and the actual pushing, the pushing seemed to be taking a bit. 

"I can't....I can't do this...." Crowley leaned back against Deirdre between contractions. 

"You absolutely can, dear. You are strong and amazing and you can do this. Come on." Deirdre actually helped a little bit when it came time to push again. This time, Crowley's groans of pain were soon accompanied by the sounds of a baby crying. Crowley leaned back against Deirdre again, letting out a little sobbing laugh. 

"You have a son." The doctor announced as he handed the baby off to the nurse to get cleaned up. 

"A boy....Deirdre....I have a son." She chuckled and Deirdre gave her a little hug. 

"Congratulations, dear." She nodded. Crowley tensed as another contraction hit hard. She gripped the sides of the exam bed and gritted her teeth. 

"That'll be the second one. On the next contraction I want you to push, okay? Shouldn't be too much longer." The doctor looked up at Crowley for a second. When the next contraction hit, Crowley was almost growling as she pushed. Deirdre was still being supportive and helping as much as she could. And then there was that beautiful sound again of a baby crying. Crowley practically collapsed back against Deirdre, panting heavily. 

"And a daughter." The doctor handed the baby off to the nurse to get cleaned up before he finished up with Crowley. Having to tidy things up and do what doctors did when the pushing was all over. 

"A little girl." Crowley said quietly with a laugh. "One of each." She chuckled. "Can....can I see them?" She asked the doctor. She was feeling a bit lightheaded, but she wanted to see her babies. 

"Of course. As soon as we get them cleaned up." The doctor looked up, noticing that Crowley was particularly pale. "Mrs Young, could I see you outside for a moment?" He took his gloves off as he got to his feet, motioning to one of the nurses. 

"Of course. I'll be right outside, dear." She told Crowley before slowly getting up and following the doctor outside. 

"I need you to try to get in touch with her husband right away." He looked very worried all of the sudden. 

"What's going on?" Deirdre asked, now very worried herself. 

"I know that you know she's not human. She's practically immortal. But her body can sustain damage." He cleared his throat. "She's losing a lot of blood. I need to get back in there and see if there's anything I can do to keep her from being discorporated. Please, just get in touch with her husband." He then headed back into the room to look after his patient. Deirdre went a little further down the hall and dialed the number that she had in her phone for Aziraphale.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale finally checks his messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added the tag "implied character death" because my angst meter runs high sometimes.

"Aziraphale, you have a pregnant wife waiting at home for you and your have your phone turned off?" Anathema asked incredulously. "What is the point of even having the thing if you're not going to leave it on?" She picked the phone up from the desk where it was sitting and pushed the button to turn it on. 

"I only have it if I need to contact Crowley." Aziraphale answered with a shrug. 

"But what if she needs to contact you?" Newt asked from across the room. Aziraphale really hadn't thought about that. The phone started to ding repeatedly as soon as it was completely on. 

"And that is exactly why I keep it off." Aziraphale said rather exasperated. Anathema read through the text messages and then dialed the voicemail. 

"What's your pin for your voicemail?" Anathema asked. 

"1234." Aziraphale said. "It's easy to remember." He said in response to the rather irritated look she gave him. Anathema put the phone on speaker to play the messages. 

1115 AM Crowley: Zira, darling, I don't mean to alarm you but my waters broke. The contractions just started and are about thirty minutes apart so you've got plenty of time to get home, dear. 

1230PM Crowley: Zira, my love. The contractions are twenty minutes apart now. I need you to come home right away, please. Why aren't you answering your blasted phone? 

1245PM Crowley: Well, darling, now the Youngs are going to be taking me to the hospital because you can't be bothered to ANSWER YOUR BLASTED MOBILE! 

215PM Crowley: Aziraphale I swear to all that is holy if you do not get your angelic ass to this hospital in the next few minutes I will make sure you definitely regret it. 

415PM Deirdre: Aziraphale, this is Deirdre Young. You need to get to the hospital right away. Your babies are healthy but something's gone wrong. The doctor says that Anna is losing a lot of blood. He's doing everything he can but you need to get here. Please. 

There was no missing the shaking of Deirdre's words before the end of the message. Anathema had been looking at Aziraphale the entire time. Her look originally said 'I told you so' but at the last message from Deirdre it turned to concern very quickly. That last voicemail had been left two hours earlier and there weren't any other voicemails, or texts for that matter. All attempts to contact him had completely stopped. Before anyone in the bookshop could say anything, Aziraphale simply vanished. 

Aziraphale appeared just outside the hospital immediately after getting the last message. He only ever traveled by car to fit in with the humans, and this was definitely a situation that required speed. Fortunately Arthur Young hadn't been facing the hospital when Aziraphale simply appeared out of nowhere. Aziraphale walked into the hospital in a hurry, looking around desperately. 

"Aziraphale! Thank goodness you're here." Deirdre came over and pulled him into a hug. 

"I'm so sorry. I had my phone off. I didn't....I got here as quickly as I could. Is....Crowley.....is she...." He felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Deirdre put a hand on his arm to calm him a bit. 

"There was a bit of a scare but she's going to be fine. She's resting now. Doctor says it's going to be a little longer before you can go home, but she'll live." There was a touch of sadness in her voice but Aziraphale tried to ignore that for the moment. The important thing was that Crowley hadn't been discorporated. That's what mattered. 

"Can I see her?" He did feel a bit of the fear lift from him, but only a little bit. Deirdre nodded and led him to the room where Crowley was currently sleeping. Before Aziraphale went inside, the doctor approached. "I got here as quickly as I could..." He said, a little defensive for no real reason. 

"I know. Kids come when they want to, not when they're scheduled." He tried to smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. 

"What is it? What's wrong?" Aziraphale was starting to panic. 

"There was significant blood loss after the birth. I believe that it was an unexpected hemorrhage. We did everything we could to stop the bleeding but I'm afraid the only way to keep your wife in her body was to perform an emergency hysterectomy. I'm very sorry." He put a hand on Aziraphale's shoulder. Aziraphale looked a bit confused at first, just staring at the doctor for a moment, and then it registered. 

"No more children....." He said softly. Of course that wasn't really the case, was it? They weren't human, after all. Couldn't they just miracle up the right body parts to make it happen again if they wanted? That seemed rational to him just then. 

"I'm afraid not." The doctor cleared his throat. "She's resting right now. I haven't had a chance to go over the situation with her since it happened. I think it's best if that waits until she's a bit stronger." 

"You don't know my wife. She's the strongest being there is." Aziraphale was defensive again. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sit by her side, now." 

"Of course." The doctor nodded and went to check on another patient. Aziraphale went into the hospital room and pulled a chair up next to the bed, taking Crowley's hand. 

"I love you, so much." He said, bringing her hand to his lips. "I'm so very sorry I wasn't here for you. I know you'll probably never forgive me." He sighed softly. 

"S'not my job." Crowley said as she opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She felt like she'd been run over by a million stampeding elephants. "You're the one that's supposed to do the forgiving." She gave him a tired smile. 

"You're very right about that." Aziraphale smiled back and reached up to place a hand on Crowley's cheek. Before either of them could say anything else, two nurses came in wheeling a bassinet each and moved them over to the bed. Both of the babies were sound asleep and had flaming red hair. Aziraphale picked up the one wrapped in a pink blanket and kissed her forehead. "Our beautiful little girl." He whispered softly before handing the baby over to Crowley. 

"What should we name her?" Crowley asked, smiling down at the little bundle in her arms. 

"I thought perhaps we could name her Eve. Without whom her parents most likely never would have met. At least not on good terms." Aziraphale smiled a little, then went to pick up their son. 

"You do have a point there." Crowley chuckled a little, then winced. Oh it even hurt to laugh. "Eve. I do like that." 

"And what about our son?" He went over and gently sat on the bed, holding the little blue bundle close to his chest. "What shall we name him?" 

"If it's alright with you, my love, I would really like to name him Frederick." Crowley looked down at the two babies, a little nervous about what Aziraphale would think. 

"Why Frederick.....oh....." It clicked after a second. "Freddie for short, I assume?" He gave Crowley a little smile. 

"If it's alright...." Crowley nodded. 

"I think that is an absolutely fitting tribute to your very dear friend." Aziraphale said before leaning in carefully to give his wife a kiss on the lips. He could almost feel Crowley relax. Eve started to make soft cooing noises and Aziraphale moved back a little bit. When the baby opened her eyes, Crowley gasped. Looking up at her was a beautiful pair of eyes that were almost identical to her father's. Soon after, Freddie opened his eyes to reveal the same.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The babies are home

Crowley and Aziraphale had agreed that the first few weeks would be just them. They'd told everyone they would let them know when they were accepting visitors. They wanted to get the babies comfortable and in a bit of a routine before people started coming by. The exception was, of course, Deirdre. She came by with meals that just needed to be heated up and would help with the babies when they seemed to be a bit overwhelmed. 

"I guess this is what it's like when people have their mother around to help." Crowley said as she sat on the couch. She was feeding Eve while Deirdre held Freddie. 

"I guess in your situation that's not exactly possible, is it?" Deirdre smiled down at the baby as she said it. 

"God's a bit too busy to worry about helping with the grandkids, yeah." Crowley said with a chuckle. Deirdre looked up at her and tilted her head. She hadn't really thought about that. 

"Well, she's missing out." Deirdre said with a nod before going back to cooing at Freddie. "They're absolutely beautiful babies." 

"Thank you." Crowley nodded. She chuckled softly when she looked down and noticed that Eve seemed to have fallen asleep mid meal. "This one definitely takes after me. She's very fond of her sleep." 

"And what about this one?" Deirdre said with a baby voice to Freddie. 

"That one takes after his father. He's very, very fond of eating." Crowley chuckled again. "Sometimes I wonder if he'll be a bit on the round side like Zira as well." She'd said it affectionately. She was very fond of Aziraphale's roundness. 

"I heard that, you know?" Aziraphale said as he came into the living room from the kitchen carrying a tray with tea and some biscuits. 

"I knew you would, darling." Crowley smiled at Aziraphale. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips when he was close enough. 

"One thing is very much for certain." Deirdre said as she watched them. "These children will never have to question whether or not their parents love each other." This caused Aziraphale to blush slightly as he took a seat next to Crowley. 

"Love is the one thing that we can guarantee to provide in this house." Crowley nodded. She shifted Eve over to Aziraphale and held her arms out, taking Freddie from Deirdre and starting to feed him. Deirdre took that as her cue to start serving the tea. 

"Please don't take this the wrong way but I'm a bit surprised with how....human they look." Deirdre said as she poured them all tea. 

"I'm actually a bit glad for it." Crowley said, keeping her eyes on her son. She gently stroked his cheek with her finger as he ate. 

"Why is that, my love?" Aziraphale had been a bit surprised to hear it. 

"They'll be more likely to make friends if they at least appear normal." She shrugged a little. "They obviously aren't human but it's better than having to keep them sequestered until they're old enough to wear sunglasses and keep them on." 

"Oh." Aziraphale looked down at Eve as she slept. Crowley did have a point. 

"They do have beautiful eyes." Deirdre tried to lighten the mood a bit. 

"Exactly like their father's." Crowley leaned over and gave Aziraphale a little kiss on the cheek. Aziraphale smiled at Crowley. He was quiet for the rest of Deirdre's visit, just sipping his tea and rocking Eve. 

"You know I really wouldn't have minded so much." Aziraphale said as they were getting ready for bed. 

"Minded what, dear?" Crowley asked as she brushed her hair out. She looked at Aziraphale in the mirror. 

"If they had your eyes." He walked over and stood behind Crowley's chair. "I wouldn't have minded it at all." 

"I know that, darling. It's one of the reasons I love you." Crowley put her brush down and turned so she could actually look up at Aziraphale. "But I think that their lives will be a little bit easier in this particular case." 

"I suppose you're right." Aziraphale nodded with a sigh. "It would be nice for them to actually make some friends. Be able to go to school." 

"Live amongst the humans." Crowley said with a nod. "Besides, we don't know what will happen when they get older. We don't know what abilities they're going to have. We just have to wait and see." She got to her feet and gave Aziraphale a lingering kiss on the lips. They still had a few weeks before the doctor said they could do much more than that. Aziraphale lifted a hand and ran his fingers through Crowley's hair. 

"I do love you. More than you can possibly know." He kissed her again. Crowley smiled brightly as she looked into Aziraphale's eyes. 

"If it's even half as much as I love you, I think I have an idea." She nuzzled his hand as it moved to her cheek. Crowley closed her eyes as one of the babies started crying. They were actually pretty quiet as babies went but when they did cry, it probably woke the entire block. 

"I'll get them, my dear. You get some rest." Aziraphale kissed her one more time before going into the nursery.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Birthday Party

"Is this absolutely necessary?" Aziraphale asked as he looked around their cottage. There were balloons and streamers and other such nonsense that he just scowled at. 

"Our children only turn a year old once, Aziraphale. It's something to celebrate." Crowley smiled as she put the finishing touches on the little cakes that each child was going to get. She'd looked it up online. They were called smash cakes and it was a brilliant idea. 

"But they won't remember any of this." Aziraphale said rather exasperated. He really didn't like the idea at all, he'd only gone along with it because it seemed to make Crowley happy. 

"That's why we take pictures and video so we can show them when they're older." Crowley walked over and gave Aziraphale a quick kiss on the lips. "Plus, my love, you're going off of human memory standards. They could remember all of it, you don't know." 

"I suppose you're right." Aziraphale shook his head. 

"Now, how about you go scowl in the garden with Arthur while Deirdre and I finish up in here." Crowley kissed him again. 

"I don't scowl." Aziraphale pouted a little before doing as he was told and going outside. Deirdre and Arthur had just shown up. 

"DEE!" Eve yelled when the woman came into view. It was one of the few words that they could actually say. Freddie was too busy examining the toys that were hanging in front of him. 

"Hello my lovelies." Deirdre said as she came into the house and picked up Eve. The little girl giggled as Deirdre kissed her cheek. 

"Dee." She said, accidentally smacking Deirdre in the face. Deirdre just laughed and took the hand, pretending to nibble on the chubby little fingers, which caused Eve to giggle even more. 

"Thank you for coming to help out." Crowley walked over and gave Deirdre a quick kiss on the cheek. 

"It's no trouble at all, love. I know how hard it was to set something like this up with just Adam, I can only imagine having to keep two kids under control." She nodded. 

"Zira has been almost no help at all." Crowley rolled her eyes as she went back to finishing up the cakes. 

"Of course he hasn't." Deirdre shook her head. "The men are only useful when it comes to eating the food, not when it comes to making it." She looked at the little girl in her arms. "Isn't that right, Evie?" She chuckled. Eve just stared at her like she was trying to figure out the right answer. 

Putting the finishing touches on the party didn't take very long at all once Deirdre got there. Newt and Anathema showed up with their children, who pretended to be very bored because it was a baby party after all. A few of the other people from neighborhood showed up as well. The twins thoroughly enjoyed getting cake everywhere and Crowley had even convinced Aziraphale to stay inside and take video of the cake smashing. She caught him smiling a few times throughout the afternoon and managed to sneak a picture of Freddie offering him a fistful of cake. 

"You don't have to do that, dear." Crowley said as Deirdre started to help with the cleaning up. Arthur had already gone ahead home with his wife's blessing. 

"I don't mind at all, really." Deirdre smiled as she moved around picking up empty cups and plates. Aziraphale was off giving the twins a bath while Crowley tried to tidy up downstairs. Crowley just watched Deirdre for a minute. 

<

"Is everything alright?" There was just something about the way her friend was moving that made her a little concerned. 

"I'm fine, love. I promise. I'm just.....well....this has all made me realize how much I miss Adam." She said it with a sad sort of chuckle. 

"He hasn't been home to visit?" That seemed a bit odd to Crowley. She went over and stood a little closer to Deirdre. 

"Not since the last time, no." She shook her head. Crowley had just assumed that Adam hadn't stopped by to see them on other visits. 

"Maybe you should go see him." Crowley offered with a grin. 

"I don't want to intrude. I think he might have a girlfriend." Deirdre made a face. As far as she was concerned there was no girl that was good enough for her son. 

"Oh well then you absolutely must intrude. Especially if you don't know for sure." Crowley winked at her mischievously. "I'll even go with you. I think Zira wouldn't mind having the kids to himself for a few days." 

"I think Zira most definitely would." Aziraphale said as he came back downstairs. "What are you plotting?" 

"I am going to take Deirdre and we're going to go visit Adam who has been a very bad boy and not come home to visit his mother in quite some time." Crowley raised an eyebrow at him. There was no room for argument in her tone. Aziraphale sighed. 

"Maybe it's you he's avoiding." Aziraphale gave her that look and Crowley just stuck her tongue out at him. 

"Let me call him." Deirdre said, chuckling as she watched the two of them. She missed the days when she and Arthur used to be like that. "Then we'll go, alright?" 

"Alright." Crowley nodded. "Just let me know, darling." She gave Deirdre another kiss on the cheek. "Now, get going. I'm not letting you clean up anymore." 

"Alright, alright. I'll go." Deirdre gave Crowley a quick hug and waved at Aziraphale. Crowley walked her out to the gate and gave her one more hug, standing outside to make sure she made it down the lane okay. 

"You're a very good friend, my love." Aziraphale said as Crowley came back into the cottage. He was sitting on the couch holding Eve who refused to go to sleep. Crowley sat down next to them. 

"She misses him so much. I hate seeing her so sad." Crowley sighed a little bit. 

"I know you do." He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly. "And I know that you'll do whatever you can to fix it." Demon or not, Crowley really was a very nice person, though Aziraphale had learned a long time ago not to say that particular four letter word out loud.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam babysits the twins

It had been a few months since Deirdre and Crowley's surprise visit to Adam. They'd found out that he did, in fact, have a girlfriend and had promised to bring her home for the winter holiday. Deirdre was a lot happier when they got back home and everything seemed to be going pretty well. 

Adam had agreed to watch the twins so that Aziraphale, Crowley, and his parents could go out for the evening. His girlfriend wasn't arriving in Tadfield until the next afternoon so he didn't really have anything to do anyway. 

Crowley was enjoying the dinner with the Youngs. It was nice to get out and have some adult time. And it was very nice to have some friends that they could do that with. They even managed to not bring up the twins during their conversation, trying to keep it to other subjects. They were about halfway through dinner when Crowley's phone rang. 

"Hello, Adam. How are things going?" She said as she answered the phone. 

"There's a slight situation." Adam cleared his throat. 

"A situation?" Crowley said quietly. "What do you mean?" 

"The twins have....well....I can't find them" Adam bit his lip. 

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Crowley's voice was tense. She was trying to keep her side of the conversation vague so that she wouldn't alarm the others. 

"I can hear them giggling. And I know they're in the house, but I can't actually see them. They've gone invisible." Adam continued to look around the house as he was talking to Crowley. 

"Have they now?" Crowley asked as she reached under the table and squeezed Aziraphale's thigh. "Alright. You just hang tight and we'll be back shortly." She hung up the phone and sighed. 

"Is everything alright, dear?" Deirdre asked. Crowley had her phone under the table and was quickly texting Deirdre what was actually going on, since Arthur was still in the dark. 

"Everything's fine. I think leaving just Adam with the twins was a little much." Crowley smiled as she got to her feet. Deirdre checked her phone and her eyes went wide. 

"Right. You go take care of that. Perhaps after Adam's girlfriend gets to town we can try this again." Deirdre nodded. "Two against two and all that." 

"Yes, perhaps." Crowley nodded. "Zira, darling, will you pay the check before we leave?" She gave him a tense smile and he nodded. 

"Oh, you don't need to do that, love..." Deirdre started. 

"It's the least we can do for abandoning you." Aziraphale smiled. 

"Yes, Deirdre, don't turn down kindness." Arthur looked at her. Anything to save money, after all. 

It didn't take Crowley and Aziraphale very long to get back to the cottage. She was almost out of the car before it was even turned off. She headed straight inside and started looking around. 

"Adam?" She called as she went into the living room. The twins were in their swings and Adam was sitting on the couch watching them. 

"It's fine, now. They came out of hiding." Adam looked up at Crowley. "You didn't warn me about that." 

"We didn't know." Crowley said with a sigh. Aziraphale came up behind her and just looked at the twins. 

"So now we not only have to worry about them crawling away, we also have to worry about them literally disappearing." Aziraphale said with a sigh. 

"We knew that they were going to manifest some kind of powers." Crowley sighed again. "We'll just have to figure it out as we go, I guess." 

"I suppose this means that only my mum can babysit if I'm not around." Adam said as he got to his feet. "Or I guess Newt and Anathema could, too." 

"Our babysitter pool is definitely severely limited." Crowley nodded. She pulled a bit of cash out of her purse and held it out to Adam. "For the trouble." Adam took it reluctantly after getting a look from Aziraphale. 

"I'll walk you home." Aziraphale offered. Adam was old enough to get himself home, but it would make Aziraphale feel better. Crowley sat down on the couch and looked at the twins. 

"You two are going to be so much trouble, aren't you?" She asked, reaching out to tickle them under their chins. They both giggled and Crowley was sure there was a tiny bit of evil in it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins start school and Aziraphale doesn't like the empty house.

"Now, what did mommy tell you about today?" Crowley asked the twins as she finished buttoning up their coats. 

"No disappearing." Eve said with a little bit of a sigh. 

"No showing off our powers to make friends." Freddie said, making a face. He really wasn't a fan of this whole school thing. 

"Very good." Crowley said as she kissed each of them on the forehead. "Now, let's get you to school so you're not late on your first day." She got to her feet and smiled, holding out her hands. Each child took a hand and they walked along the lane to the school. 

"Mommy?" Eve asked before they got there. 

"Yes, my dear?" Crowley smiled down at her daughter. 

"Why do we have to go to school?" Eve really didn't like the idea of being away from her parents for more than a few minutes. It was one of the reasons they acted up for every single babysitter, except for Auntie Dee. 

"So that you can learn all kinds of neat things and grow up to be smart like daddy." She gave a little shrug. 

"But daddy's really smart. He could teach us neat stuff." Freddie added. He just didn't like the idea of having to sit still for long periods of time. And he wasn't a fan of having to wait to eat his snacks. 

"He is very smart but, my loves, contrary to what your father might think he doesn't actually know everything." Crowley said with a chuckle. Both of the kids gasped. 

"Imma tell daddy you said that!" Eve said with a giggle. 

"Oh no. Whatever shall I do." There was no missing the sarcasm in her tone and all three of them giggled. 

"So the teachers know more than daddy?" Freddie raised an eyebrow. He seriously doubted that. 

"They don't know more than daddy, no, but they know things that daddy doesn't. Like he's absolute rubbish at science." Crowley grinned. When they got outside the school she knelt down so that she was eye level with them again. 

"Daddy can't cook either." Eve made a face and Crowley shook her head. 

"No, he really can't." She chuckled. "Alright, my darlings. We're here. Do you want me to walk you to your class?" She reached up and smoothed some of Freddie's hair. Both children had gotten her ginger hair but they'd inherited their father's wild curls. It made for an adorable combination. Eve and Freddie looked at each other before shaking their heads. 

"No, I think we're big enough." Eve said, taking Freddie's hand. 

"You certainly are." Crowley kissed each one on the forehead before getting to her feet again. "Have a good day at school, my dears, and remember the rules." 

"Yes, mommy." They said in unison before going into the building. Crowley started a mental countdown to the first phone call from the teacher in regard to something her children had done. 

Crowley took her time getting back to the house after dropping the kids off at school. She'd stopped to talk to Deirdre for a bit and then took the long way to get back to the cottage. It was going to be very strange, just her and Aziraphale in the house and she wasn't sure what they were going to do. Aziraphale seemed to have an idea, though. When she walked into the cottage the lights were low and there were candles on almost every flat surface. Crowley let out a little laugh in surprise. 

"Zira? What on earth?" She asked as she looked around. Aziraphale came down the stairs wearing only his dress shirt and slacks. For anyone else that would have been a lot but for Aziraphale it was practically nothing. He walked over and slipped an arm around Crowley's waist, pulling her close and kissing her neck. 

"We have the whole cottage all to ourselves." Aziraphale whispered in her ear. 

"And you want to relive the days before the kids?" Crowley asked as she wrapped her arms around Aziraphale's shoulders. It wasn't a horrible idea, if she were honest. While their sex life hadn't been entirely lacking, it had dwindled quite a bit since the twins were born. 

"Something like that." Aziraphale smiled and kissed her neck again. He moved his hand from the small of her back down to her ass, squeezing gently. 

"Something like that." Crowley said with a little laugh. "I do love seeing you in this kind of mood." She tilted her head a little as Aziraphale paid more attention to her neck. She was pretty sure he was trying to leave a hickey and she was okay with it. 

They managed to make it to the base of the stairs before passion took over and they couldn't go any further. Fortunately they were in a part of the cottage that couldn't be easily seen from the road. After taking a moment to catch their breath, Crowley got to her feet and miracled up some clothes. She'd gotten very used to just lounging in one of Aziraphale's shirts and a pair of leggings. It was ridiculously comfortable. 

"You know when you dress like that, I can't help myself." Aziraphale smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. 

"Well, you're going to have to help yourself because I am hungry." Crowley shook her head and went into the kitchen. Aziraphale followed and wrapped his arms around her from behind as she tried to cook them some lunch. He kissed the back of her neck before resting his chin on her shoulder. 

"Is this how our days are going to be spent?" Crowley asked, shifting her eyes a little to try to look at her husband. "I take the kids to school and then you're attached to my side until time to pick them up?" She chuckled. 

"Possibly." Aziraphale shrugged even though his arms didn't move from around her. 

"It's going to get old, you know?" Crowley smirked a little. 

"I really don't think so." Aziraphale kissed her neck again and this time backed off to go take a seat at the kitchen table. He did have the decency to miracle himself some clothes before sitting within sight of one of the windows that could be seen from the road. "I did want to discuss something with you, though." 

"And what's that?" Crowley continued cooking. She was in a very good mood at the moment and started to hum under her breath as she cooked. 

"The possibility of perhaps the house not being quite so empty while the twins are at school." Aziraphale cleared his throat. Crowley's smile faded and her hands stopped for just a moment before she continued making the meal. 

"We could definitely get a dog. I think the twins would like that." She nodded. 

"A dog isn't what I was thinking about...." Aziraphale said as he got to his feet. This time he moved over to lean against the counter next to Crowley, watching her cook. Crowley closed her eyes for a moment. 

"You know what the doctor said, Zira." She cleared her throat. 

"That doesn't have to be the case, though. A little miracle and then..." He started. 

"No." Crowley shook her head as she interrupted him. "We can get a dog, or maybe a cat, or both. But just....no." 

"Why not?" There was nothing but curiosity in his tone. Crowley was quiet for a moment. 

"I don't want to risk it." She cleared her throat. 

"Just because it happened one time...." Aziraphale started and Crowley held up a hand. 

"You know that I've spent a majority of my existence questioning God's will. It's pretty much the whole reason I'm a demon, questioning her. It's just....it's what I've done. And she has done quite a lot of questionable things over the millennia. But this...." Crowley let her hand drop and she sighed softly. "She didn't have to let us have the twins, Zira. She could have kept it from happening. Instead, we were blessed. We were given these two beautiful children and then it was decided that those two are all we need." She paused a moment as she placed her hand on her lower abdomen. "It didn't have to happen that way. Everything could have turned out perfectly fine. But it didn't. And I have to conclude that......it's what she wants." 

"Crowley...." Aziraphale moved over and put a hand on her arm. 

"As much as I would love to have more children with you, Zira, it's just better if we don't go against what currently is. Things could go really, really wrong and I can't take that risk." She took a deep breath and then took his hand, squeezing gently. "Just this once I have to not question her will. Because the alternative could lead to you being a single father and I am not going to let that happen." She kissed him tenderly on the lips. 

"You're right." Aziraphale nodded after kissing back. "You're absolutely right." He put a hand on her cheek and found himself getting very emotional at the thought of losing Crowley. "I won't do anything that might put you in danger, my love. I promise." Crowley turned her head to kiss the palm of Aziraphale's hand. 

"Thank you." She smiled. She gave him one more kiss before turning back to the meal that was starting to burn. Aziraphale nodded and then went back to take his seat at the table. 

"But we're definitely going to have a serious discussion about the possibility of getting a dog." He smirked at her and Crowley laughed as she shook her head. She had brought it on herself, after all.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale get some interesting news.

Crowley was feeling absolutely terrible. It was a new sensation because she wasn't supposed to be able to get sick, and yet there she was. She had managed to hide it from Aziraphale for the first couple of days. Especially since it seemed to subside by lunch time. She could just go about her morning and hope that the nausea didn't get worse. 

Aziraphale had just come back from taking the kids to school, the dog having gone with him this time. He let the dog out into the garden to run around a bit before taking off his jacket and starting upstairs. He was just outside their bedroom when he heard something coming from the bathroom. 

"Crowley?" He asked with a raised eyebrow as he made his way closer to the bathroom door. 

"I'm.....I'm fine...." Crowley replied, though her reply was interrupted briefly by the sound of retching. Aziraphale tried the door but found it locked. 

"You don't sound fine, darling. Please, let me in." Aziraphale placed his hand on the door. After a couple of moments there was the sound of the toilet flushing, water running and then Crowley unlocked the door. She tried to appear as if everything was okay but there was no mistaking it. She was pale and a little wobbly. "Crowley, what's going on?" 

"I....I don't know...." She managed to barely get out before running back to the toilet and retching again. "Something's wrong...." She coughed a bit before sitting on the floor with her back against the bathtub. 

"But we're not supposed to be able to get sick..." Aziraphale went to the cabinet and got a washcloth, wetting it with cold water before handing it to Crowley. She rubbed the cloth over her face and across her neck before wiping her mouth with it. 

"I'm very aware of this, darling." She covered her mouth as she tried to keep from throwing up again. "I need to go to the doctor." She really hated to say that. 

"Yes, of course. I'll go get the car." Aziraphale gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. She didn't feel warm so that was good. He smiled down at her before going to get the car. In their time in Tadfield, Aziraphale had learned how to drive. He felt it was absolutely necessary, especially when Crowley was too heavily pregnant to be able to do much walking. 

"Thank you." Crowley said as she got to her feet. She was still a little wobbly but she managed to make it to the bedroom to finish getting dressed. She was feeling a little better as she made her way downstairs. 

"Can you stop by the Young's house? I need to make sure Deirdre can watch the children after school." Crowley closed her eyes for a moment when she got into the car. 

"Of course, darling." Aziraphale nodded. He was certain that they wouldn't be gone that long but it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially since the children were only in fourth year. 

"Oh dear, you look absolutely green around the gills." Deirdre said as she came out to the car to talk to Crowley. Aziraphale had gone to the door and explained the situation. 

"I think I feel worse." Crowley tried to smile. She took Deirdre's hand. "Could you please make sure the kids get home safe and stay with them until we get back?" 

"Of course, darling. Don't worry about a thing." Deirdre smiled and squeezed Crowley's hand. "Auntie Deirdre will take care of everything." She nodded. 

"Thank you so much." Crowley relaxed into the car seat. There was one less thing to worry about. She shut the door and Aziraphale walked Deirdre back to her door. 

"I thought you couldn't get sick...." Deirdre looked back at the car, a bit concerned for her friend. 

"We can't." Aziraphale was very worried himself. 

"You go take care of your wife. I'll make sure the kids are looked after." Deirdre gave Aziraphale a little kiss on the cheek. Aziraphale nodded and then went back to the car. Deirdre watched until they were out of sight before going back into her house. 

They were sitting at the doctor's office for what seemed like hours before he was finally able to see them. Crowley was feeling a little better but she couldn't ignore the fact that she'd thrown up pretty much everything that she'd consumed for the last week. It was a very unpleasant experience that she didn't want to repeat. It was pretty obvious that she was worried as they sat there, holding Aziraphale's hand and trying to remain calm. 

"It's going to be fine, dear." Aziraphale said, though it sounded as if he wasn't quite sure he believed that. 

"I know." Crowley replied and just squeeze his hand again. They finally got back to an exam room and the nurse took down all of their information. She took Crowley's blood pressure and some other vital signs and then went to get the doctor. 

"What time is it?" Crowley was asking constantly. She really hoped that they would be home before the kids got out of school. 

"About twenty minutes after the last time you asked." Aziraphale said after checking his pocket watch. 

"Oh." Crowley replied. It had felt like quite a bit longer. After a series of tests that included taking some blood and other things, the doctor finally came back in looking very confused. 

"I have one more test that I need to run to make sure that my findings are actually correct." The doctor had made several notes in Crowley's file. 

"You're scaring me, doctor." Crowley said. Her grip on Aziraphale's hand tightened and he winced a bit. 

"I need to do an ultrasound." The doctor put the file aside just as the nurse wheeled in the portable ultrasound machine. 

"I....but.....why?" Aziraphale asked, very confused. 

"Like I said, I need to confirm the test results." The doctor took a seat next to the exam bed. "If you wouldn't mind..." 

"Um....okay." Crowley laid back on the bed and pulled up her shirt, pushing down the waistband of her skirt a bit. The doctor moved the machine over and squirted the gel on her belly, then started to move the wand around. He made various "mmmhmm" sounds as he scanned Crowley's abdomen. 

"Well, the results aren't a mistake." He nodded and then turned the screen so that Aziraphale and Crowley could both see it. "You're definitely pregnant." 

"But....how is that.....I can't.....you said......" Crowley just stared at the screen. 

"I had to remind myself that I am dealing with an angel and a demon." The doctor shrugged. Crowley closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at Aziraphale. 

"You didn't...." She started. Aziraphale shook his head vigorously. 

"Absolutely not. After we had that talk...I completely agreed to close the matter. I didn't even pray about it. Darling, I really don't know what is going on here." Aziraphale looked between his wife and the screen showing their baby. 

"How many?" Crowley raised an eyebrow as she tried to make out the smudge on the screen. 

"From what I can tell just one this time." The doctor moved the wand around a bit as he took some measurements. "And I'd say you're about eight weeks along." He cleaned off the wand and put it back in it's place on the machine before handing Crowley a towel. "Congratulations." He said before getting up, making some notes in the file and then leaving the room. Crowley slowly wiped the gel off her belly. 

"How is this even possible?" She asked as she sat up and straightened her clothes. 

"I.....really have no idea." Aziraphale replied. They were both in complete shock. This shouldn't have been possible. 

"Zira......I'm scared." Crowley was trying very hard not to cry. Part of the reason was that she hadn't actually had any morning sickness when she was pregnant with the twins. It was a whole new experience for her. Aziraphale wrapped his arms around Crowley and held her close, rubbing her back slowly. Crowley rested her head against her husband's chest and closed her eyes. 

"I'm sure everything is going to be fine. We have to believe that this happened for a reason, yes?" He smiled a little, though he was glad that she couldn't see it didn't quite reach his eyes. 

"Right. Yes." Crowley nodded. "It happened for a reason." Though she had no idea what that reason was. "Do you think the twins will be excited?" She looked up at Aziraphale. 

"I think they'll be ecstatic." Aziraphale nodded, touching Crowley's cheek. "And if we leave now we can get back to the cottage about the same time they do." He smiled. Crowley just nodded, slowly getting off the exam bed and placing a hand on her belly. She really didn't know what was going to happen and that absolutely terrified her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley and Aziraphale have a visitor.

Crowley was still trying to process everything as they pulled up to the house. She'd been unconsciously rubbing her belly almost the whole time. How was any of it possible? She was silent the whole way home and Aziraphale hadn't tried to goad her into conversation as he sometimes did. He was thinking everything over himself, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. When they pulled up to the house, Deirdre was waiting for them at the gate. 

"Is everything okay?" Crowley asked as she got out of the car. 

"There's a woman inside. Said she came to see the twins. And talk to you." Deirdre cleared her throat. "She says that she's your mother." She focused her attention directly on Aziraphale. 

"My mother? Why that's quite impossible." Aziraphale shook his head. "I....well....unless....." He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. 

"I need you to not tell me that I just spent the last hour having tea with God." Deirdre closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

"Of course you didn't, dear." Crowley said as she patted Deirdre's arm. "That would be utterly ridiculous, wouldn't it?" She tried very hard to make it sound convincing. 

"Right. Totally ridiculous." Deirdre nodded. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Are you two going to be okay? Do you want me to stick around?" 

"No, darling." Crowley said as she kissed Deirdre's cheek. "You go on home. And thank you for watching them." 

"And we'll discuss the news later?" Deirdre asked. 

"Of course. I think I'll have a better idea what's going on tomorrow." Crowley smiled. Deirdre just nodded and went along to her house. Crowley took Aziraphale's hand and squeezed it. "God is in our house watching our children." 

"It would seem so, yes." Aziraphale nodded, wincing a little bit at Crowley's grip on his hand. 

"I'm more scared now than I was before." Crowley admitted as she looked at her husband. 

"I can honestly say exactly the same." Aziraphale brought Crowley's hand up to his lips and kissed the back. "But whatever is going to happen, we'll get through together." He smiled a little. 

"Of course we will." Crowley nodded before kissing Aziraphale on the cheek. She set her shoulders and then headed into the cottage, not letting go of Aziraphale's hand. 

"Ah, you're home." The middle aged looking woman sitting at their kitchen table said as Crowley and Aziraphale walked in. 

"That we are." Crowley forced a smile. "Thank you for helping our dear friend watch the twins. I know they can be a bit of a handful." 

"They're very sweet." The woman said as she looked at the two standing before her. Crowley and Aziraphale. She'd been watching them for quite some time. 

"Despite their parenting." Aziraphale made a little joke to hopefully break the tension. It did cause smiles all around. 

"Are we going to continue with the small talk or are you going to hit me with the questions I know you have?" God asked as she watched them. They were both extremely on edge, which was understandable. 

"Why?" Was the first question that came to Crowley's mind, her hand instinctively resting on her belly. A belly that would be getting bigger as time went on. 

"I've watched you two. Since the beginning. I've known about your relationship all along." God smiled as she got to her feet. "I've even orchestrated a few ways to get you two together but you were just so stubborn." She chuckled. "Especially you, Aziraphale. You just.....refused." She shook her head. "And I've seen how you two are now. How your family works. How you handle everything that comes at you." She moved over to stand right in front of both of them. "The two of you convinced yourselves that you were happy with just the twins but you weren't being honest with yourselves." 

"I believe that I...." Aziraphale started. God held up her hand as Crowley squeezed his hand both to get him to be quiet. 

"You've told yourselves that you're happy with just them because you thought you didn't have any other choice. But I could tell how much both of you really wanted another child." God smiled and put a hand on Crowley's shoulder. "Neither of you asked for it because you didn't have to ask. I just want the two of you to be happy." 

"So...." Crowley closed her eyes for a moment and then looked at God. "You've been trying to get us together since Eden?" She raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, not since Eden, no." God shook her head. "Since the realization that Aziraphale had managed to make a demon feel love. I can count on one finger the number of demons that can be said about." She smiled. 

"And so you just....decided that we needed another child?" Crowley made a face. 

"Darling perhaps we shouldn't....." Aziraphale started. 

"No, Aziraphale. It's alright. I was expecting questions. Especially from Crowley. Always with the questions." God chuckled a little. "You both wanted it deep down inside, you just chose to ignore that want." 

"While I do greatly appreciate this opportunity that I thought was impossible..." Crowley let go of Aziraphale's hand and ran her fingers through her hair. "A little warning would have been really nice." 

"Crowley...." Aziraphale looked at his wife in shock. 

"Aziraphale, it's alright. She's right." God nodded. "I should have told you Would have served him right to make Gabriel give you the news." She laughed. Crowley rolled her eyes and Aziraphale made a face. 

"Is there anything you can do about the morning sickness? It's brutal." Crowley made a face as she unconsciously rubbed her belly. 

"That actually wasn't part of the original plan. Your body has a mind of its own. But it shouldn't be a problem after today." God grinned. 

"Thank you." Crowley nodded. 

"Yes, thank you. Very much." Aziraphale nodded as well. 

"You're both quite welcome." God smiled. "Your children are absolutely beautiful. And extremely intelligent." 

"They are very smart, yes." Aziraphale nodded. 

"I should get back before Gabriel starts to have a coronary." God chuckled. "I might not have told him I was popping out." 

"Yes, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Gabriel." Crowley said rather monotone and rolled her eyes. Aziraphale pinched her side and God just laughed. Before they could say anything else, God was gone. 

"God granted us another child because deep down we both really wanted it. I'm not sure there are very many people that can say that, really." Crowley went to go make them some tea. 

"I can think of about ten off the top of my head, though most of those were during biblical times." Aziraphale made a face. 

"Right. Either way, we get to tell Eve and Freddie that they're getting a younger sibling. How do you think they'll take it?" Crowley asked. 

"I think they'll be quite excited." Aziraphale nodded. He went into the kitchen to help his wife finish making the tea. Perhaps they would need to miracle another room onto the cottage.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new baby arrives

The twins managed to entertain themselves for most of the evening while Deirdre watched them. They were currently asleep and Deirdre was about to drift off herself when her phone started to ring. 

"Hello?" She answered sleepily. 

"Our little boy was apparently very unhappy about entering the world." Aziraphale said with a slight chuckle. Deirdre checked her watch. 

"Oh my goodness. She hasn't been in labor the whole time, has she?" She shifted a little on the couch. 

"Just about. Roughly eighteen hours. She's sleeping right now." Aziraphale replied. 

"That....I can't imagine that at all." Deirdre made a face. The baby was already three weeks late and then eighteen hours of labor on top of it. She shuddered. "But everything's okay?" 

"They're both perfectly fine." Aziraphale said a bit proudly. "He's just over ten pounds and twenty inches long." 

"Oh my goodness. Are you sure she's actually alright?" Deirdre laughed a little. 

"Other than threatening to discorporate me repeatedly, she's fine. Or at least that's what the doctor says." Aziraphale answered. "We should be able to come home tomorrow." 

"I'll make sure everything's ready. Should I call the twins out from school?" Deirdre had no problem continuing to watch them. 

"No, I think it'll be alright. Give us time to get really settled in. Thank you again, Deirdre. You really are a saint." Aziraphale smiled even though she couldn't see it. 

"Coming from an angel that is a high compliment." Deirdre laughed and Aziraphale chuckled. They both hung up after saying their goodbyes and Deirdre went to work making sure the nursery was ready and everything was set. 

The twins had been pretty antsy all day long at school. They hadn't really wanted to go and Freddie even feigned sick but of course Deirdre saw right through it. The teachers were a little more lenient with them when Deirdre explained what was going on and that they might be a bit unfocused. Of course they were happy to leave school to find their father waiting for them rather than Auntie Deirdre. 

"Daddy!" Eve said as she ran up to him and gave him a hug. Aziraphale hugged her back and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. 

"How are you my darling?" He asked before kneeling down to get eye level with her. Freddie came over shortly after and gave his father a hug as well. 

"Can we meet the baby now?" Freddie asked and Eve nodded. 

"Of course, dears. Your mother and your baby brother are waiting for you." He grinned. Eve made a bit of a face but Freddie grinned. 

"We have a brother?" He giggled. 

"That you do." Aziraphale got to his feet and held out his hands for the twins. 

"More stinky boys." Eve wrinkled her nose. Freddie stuck his tongue out at her and Aziraphale chuckled a little. 

"I'm afraid you are a bit outnumbered, dear. You and your mother are going to have to stick close." He smirked, squeezing her hand a little. Eve nodded before sticking her tongue out at her brother. When they got to the cottage, Crowley was sitting on the couch with the baby in her lap, just holding him and singing to him. 

"Hi, mommy." Eve practically whispered just in case the baby was asleep as she walked over to take a look. Freddie moved around the other side of the couch and the two of them stared at the sleeping baby for a moment. 

"Hello my loves." Crowley smiled at the twins before looking back down at the baby in her arms. "This is your little brother Oscar." She tilted the baby just a bit so that they could get a better look. 

"Like Oscar the grouch?" Freddie tilted his head. Crowley laughed softly. Aziraphale had gone into the kitchen to make some after school snacks. 

"No, dear. Like Oscar Wilde. He was a very good friend of your father's." Crowley settled back into the couch a bit. The baby had flaming red hair just like his siblings, and his father's eyes. 

"We're all named after important people, huh?" Eve asked as she moved a little closer to get a good look at her baby brother. 

"People that were important to myself and to your father, yes." Crowley smiled. "They used to be the most important people in our lives and now the three of you are." 

"He kind of looks like you shrunk daddy and dyed his hair red." Freddie giggled and Crowley laughed. 

"He does look quite a bit like daddy, doesn't he?" She leaned down and kissed Oscar's forehead. 

"What are you three giggling about?" Aziraphale asked as he brought in a tray with some snacks for the twins and a cup of tea for Crowley. 

"Oscar looks like you, just little." Eve said as she picked up her snack. 

"I think you might be right about that." Aziraphale nodded. He sat next to Crowley and took the baby so that she could drink her tea. They sat around in the living room having snacks and drinking tea until Oscar started to fuss. Aziraphale took the twins to the park before dinner and Crowley took care of Oscar, smiling down at him after getting him to calm down. 

"You really are a miracle, my boy." She said softly before kissing his forehead and putting him down for a nap. What she hadn't been expecting through all of it was the wave of depression that hit her right after shutting the nursery door. She made her way into her bedroom and curled up on the bed, trying to get through it before the others got home.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley isn't as happy as she thinks she should be.

Crowley was managing. That was the best way to describe what she was doing. She got through her days putting on a happy face and just letting everyone think everything was okay. Aziraphale would take the kids to school and was even taking care of the housework while Crowley took care of Oscar. Sometimes Aziraphale would have errands to run and Deirdre would come over. 

"Are you alright, dear?" Deirdre asked after Crowley came back from putting Oscar down for a nap. She sat down at the kitchen table and just stared at a spot that wasn't actually there for a long moment. 

"I don't.....know." Crowley sighed heavily, picking at the table cloth. 

"What is it?" Deirdre reached across the table and put a hand over Crowley's. 

"I'm not sure. I just...." Crowley took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Everything feels off." She couldn't think of any other way to put it. Deirdre squeezed her hand gently. 

"You want to be happy but something is stopping you and you don't know what?" Deirdre tilted her head a bit. "And the fact that you're not happy just makes you feel even worse because everybody else is?" 

"Well, yes. Actually." Crowley blinked a few times and nodded. "That's pretty much it." 

"Postpartum depression." Deirdre sighed a little. "It's actually quite common. And I'm by no means an expert so you should definitely see a doctor but that's what it sounds like." She nodded. Crowley was quiet for a long moment. 

"I have an appointment tomorrow for a check up. I can say something then." Crowley moved her hand a bit so she could squeeze Deirdre's in return. "I'm not used to any of this. I'm not supposed to suffer from human conditions." She let out a humorless laugh. 

"You're also not supposed to have children in the first place, darling. There's a lot of 'not supposed to' going around lately." Deirdre grinned and Crowley laughed a bit. 

"You're very right about that." Crowley nodded. 

"The first thing you need to do, though, is tell Aziraphale. Because I'm guessing that you've been hiding the way you're feeling from him." Deirdre raised an eyebrow and Crowley bit her lip. 

"Perhaps, a little bit." Crowley wrinkled her nose. 

"Just be honest with him. He can't help you if he doesn't know something is wrong." Deirdre patted Crowley's hand. 

"You're right." Crowley sighed. She ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm just afraid that he's going to try to cheer me up." She made a face. 

"Then tell him not to." Deirdre shrugged. "Aziraphale is a good man. He'll understand." 

"I did get very lucky with him, didn't I?" Crowley smiled a little. She sighed softly when soft cooing noises came from the baby monitor. "He doesn't cry that much but he doesn't sleep, either. He'll just lay there talking to himself." 

"That is a bit better than crying all the time." Deirdre offered a smile. 

"That's very true." Crowley nodded. They spent some time drinking tea and talking before Deirdre had to leave to make sure that Arthur had dinner at what he considered to be an appropriate time. When Aziraphale got home, Crowley explained everything to him. 

"I am truly sorry that you're feeling that way, my love." Aziraphale said as he pulled her into a hug. Crowley rested her head on her husband's shoulder. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?" 

"This is helping more than you can know." Crowley sighed as she just relaxed against him. Just being held was doing a world of good. 

"I do love you, you know?" Aziraphale kissed her shoulder softly as he started to gently rub her back. 

"I know. And I love you, too. So very much. You and our children." Crowley smiled a little and just snuggled closer to Aziraphale. She was going to talk to the doctor at her visit and see what could be done to help other than being cuddled by her husband.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley has an important conversation with her daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's about a five year gap between this chapter and the one before it.

The kids were getting ready for their first day of school. Oscar was starting year one and Eve and Freddie were beginning secondary school. It was a rather exciting day for everyone. Aziraphale actually ended up having to head into London to handle some kind of emergency at the bookshop so Crowley was making sure that the kids were getting ready to go. 

Oscar had managed to dress himself in a way that could only be described as color blind hobo. Nothing matched and he'd even mixed patterns in an unflattering way. The fashionista in Crowley wanted to correct him but he was so happy about what he was wearing and so proud of himself for getting himself dressed that she let him be. She had no intention of squashing his positive feelings because of something as ridiculous as fashion. 

Freddie had spent far too long in the bathroom getting himself ready. He wanted to look his best for the school day. He'd made sure that his hair was perfect and that he was wearing his best clothes without looking like some stuck up teacher's pet. A nice green dress shirt with some black jeans and a pair of boots did the trick. At least that's what he thought. 

"You look very handsome dear." Crowley said as she kissed his forehead. Freddie made a face. 

"Mom, come on. I'm too old for that now." He rubbed at his forehead. 

"Even when you're fifty you're not going to be too old for me to kiss your forehead." Crowley chuckled and patted his shoulder before going to check on Eve. She was standing in front of her closet just staring at her clothes as if it were empty and she literally had nothing to wear. 

"What's wrong, darling?" Crowley asked as she walked up behind her daughter. 

"I don't like any of it." Eve sighed as she started to move clothes around. The sound of the hangers sliding always made Crowley cringe a bit. 

"You know I can change anything if you don't like the way it looks...." Crowley tilted her head as she watched Eve. 

"I know, Mom. I appreciate it." She sighed. "I'll figure something out." She shrugged. 

"Alright. Just let me know if you need anything." Crowley patted Eve's shoulder before heading downstairs. It was about half an hour later when Eve finally came downstairs in a t-shirt and some jeans with a sweater over it. She seemed a little down as they made their way to school but Crowley didn't want to push. 

It seemed to be the same routine day after day. Freddie and Oscar would be ready to go and Eve would still be trying to decide what to wear. She never took up Crowley on her offer to miracle anything different. She didn't like anything that she had to wear but she didn't want to be a bother to her parents. After the end of the first quarter, Crowley received a phone call from Eve's teacher. When the phone call was done, she went up to Eve's room and knocked on the door. 

"It's open." Eve said as she closed the book she was reading. Crowley opened the door and poked her head in. 

"Can we talk?" Crowley asked. 

"Sure." Eve nodded as she sat up on her bed. 

"So, I just got off the phone with your teacher." Crowley said as she made her way over to sit next to Eve. 

"Oh?" Eve tried not to look nervous. 

"Your grades are good, but she says she's a bit worried about you. That you seem a bit down." Crowley moved some of Eve's hair behind her ear. Eve looked down and picked at her nails. 

"Maybe." Eve said with a shrug. 

"What is it, darling?" Crowley sighed a little. 

"I'm afraid you'll be mad at me." Eve gave Crowley a little side glance before looking at her nails again as she picked at them. 

"Unless you've murdered someone, I highly doubt I'll be mad at you." Crowley chuckled softly. "And even then it'd depend on who you murdered." That did manage to get a little smile out of Eve. 

"It just doesn't feel right." Eve said with another shrug. 

"What doesn't, darling?" Crowley asked. 

"Anything." Eve looked up at her mother. There was almost desperation in her eyes. "My clothes, my things....even my name. It doesn't feel right." 

"Oh my darling child." Crowley smiled a little and took Eve's hand in hers. "I need to tell you a little story, okay? I promise this has a point to it." 

"Okay." Eve nodded. 

"So, a very very long time ago, I used to be an angel like your father. I had an angelic name and everything. I honestly don't remember what it was because it was eons ago." Crowley shook her head. "When I fell and became a demon, I picked a new name. Crawly." 

"Crawly?" Eve wrinkled her nose. 

"I know. Not the best name." Crowley laughed softly. "But I was a serpent, after all. Crawly did fit, in a way." She smiled. "But after a few thousand years, I decided that Crawly didn't feel right. It wasn't my true name. So I changed it to Crowley." 

"Did you know daddy back then?" Eve asked. 

"I knew your father back when I was Crawly. It actually took him quite a long time to remember that I changed my name. Seven hundred years if I remember correctly." Crowley smiled a little. 

"That must have been your true name because you still use it." Eve nodded. 

"That I do. But things change. After a while, I met my friend Leonardo and he started to call me Antonio because he hated the name Crowley." Crowley chuckled a little. 

"Not Antonia?" Eve tilted her head. 

"Nope." Crowley shook her head. "For a very large majority of my existence I presented as a man. I had times when I presented as a woman but most of the time I looked like a man. It was easier to get things done." She shrugged. 

"So you used to be a man and your friend Leonardo called you Antonio." Eve said rather than asked. 

"Exactly." Crowley nodded. "And then I became Anthony because Antonio is not a name that a pale skinned, ginger haired man would use in England." She laughed again. 

"And what did Daddy think about it?" Eve tilted her head. 

"He didn't like it at first. Still insists on calling me Crowley. " Crowley smiled. "And I was Anthony J Crowley up until the day your father and I decided we wanted to have children." 

"What's the J stand for?" Eve asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"It's just a J." Crowley shrugged. "When your father and I decided to bring you and your brothers into the world, I became Anna Crowley. And I have been your mother ever since." 

"You said your story has a point?" Eve had a good idea she knew what the point was. 

"My point is, darling, that your name is just a name. It was something that we could call you until you were old enough to decide what you wanted to be called. And who you are as a person can only be decided by you. Right here." She pointed to Eve's heart. "If you want to change anything about yourself, your father and I are both going to be completely supportive." 

"But you said that Freddie and Oscar and I are named after very important people to you and daddy." Eve moved some hair behind her ear. 

"That doesn't obligate you to keep your name, my darling." Crowley gave her a quick side hug. "If Eve is not who you truly are, then you shouldn't stay her. You should be your true self." 

"Okay." Eve nodded. "Can we maybe go clothes shopping? I need.....less pink." Eve wrinkled her nose. 

"Absolutely. And until then...." Crowley snapped her fingers and all of the pink was removed from Eve's wardrobe. 

"Thanks, mom." Eve smiled and gave Crowley a hug. 

"And what shall I call you from now on, my child? Or shall I just call you my child?" Crowley said with a bit of a smirk. 

"I really like the name Evan." Eve looked up at Crowley. 

"Evan is a beautiful name." Crowley nodded. "Just don't be surprised if it takes your father a few hundred years to remember to use it." She chuckled. 

"I won't." Evan laughed softly. She was already starting to feel a bit better.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Puberty comes with interesting changes when you're not human

"Shit shit shit shit shit." Freddie chanted as he ran back to his room. He was almost ready to leave for school when he'd gone into the bathroom and actually looked into the mirror. He then ran back to his bedroom and was tossing the place trying to find something specific. 

"Darling, are you ready to go?" Crowley asked from the bottom of the stairs. 

"Yeah, almost!" Freddie called back. Everyone else was waiting for him. He finally managed to find what he was looking for, then grabbed his bag and headed downstairs. "Alright, let's go." 

"Okay then." Crowley chuckled and locked the door behind them, taking the kids to school. 

Crowley was enjoying a quiet lunch with her husband, who had suddenly gotten a bit amorous, when her phone rang. 

"Ignore it." Aziraphale said as he continued to kiss her neck. Crowley picked up the phone and looked at the caller ID. 

"It's the school, Zira. I have to take it." She sighed heavily and answered the phone. "Hello?" 

"Mrs Crowley?" The headmaster asked. 

"Yes?" Crowley replied, swatting at Aziraphale's wandering hands. 

"This is Headmaster Worthington. I'm calling about your son Freddie." The headmaster said. 

"Is everything alright?" Crowley asked, suddenly getting worried. She shifted away from Aziraphale a bit. 

"I'm afraid he's being suspended. A situation with one of his teachers." The headmaster answered. Crowley relaxed a little bit. 

"And what kind of situation exactly?" Crowley asked. Aziraphale looked at her confused and she just held up a hand. "Right, I'll be there to pick him up." Crowley hung up the phone and looked at Aziraphale. 

"So what's going on?" Aziraphale tilted his head. Crowley got to her feet and went over to get her jacket and keys. 

"Our son is being suspended because he refused to take off his sunglasses and was rather vocal about it." Crowley cleared her throat. 

"He's never behaved like that before...." Aziraphale furrowed his brow. Freddie was usually very well behaved. 

"Think about it, darling. He's a teenager. He's dealing with puberty. He's not human. And now he's absolutely refusing to remove his sunglasses indoors." She made a point to put her sunglasses on as she said it. 

"You don't think....." Aziraphale gasped. 

"I think so, yes. He seemed rather frantic this morning." She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go pick him up. Could you actually work on something to eat for lunch?" She smiled a little. Aziraphale nodded. 

"I'm sorry." Freddie said as they walked out to the car. 

"Why are you apologizing, son?" Crowley asked with a bit of a smile. 

"For getting suspended." Freddie got into the car and stared out the window. 

"You want to tell me what happened?" Crowley asked as she got in and started to drive. Freddie wasn't really paying attention to where they were going. 

"The teacher got mad because I wouldn't take my sunglasses off." Freddie shrugged. 

"And why wouldn't you take your sunglasses off?" Crowley asked gently. She wasn't trying to push but she wanted him to be honest. 

"Because I didn't want them to see." Freddie said quietly. 

"Your eyes are a bit different now, aren't they dear?" Crowley asked, keeping her eyes on the road. 

"Maybe." Freddie said and cleared his throat. He looked at her for a moment and then looked out the window again. That was when he noticed that they weren't heading home. "Where are we going?" 

"We're going to see Dr Franklin." Crowley smiled a little. 

"So you're saying there's something wrong with me?" Freddie looked at his mother a bit panicked. 

"No, darling. But Dr Franklin has dealt with our kind of situation before. He's going to give you a note that you can take to school saying that you need to wear your sunglasses at all times. If you still want to go to school." Crowley cleared her throat. 

"But I have to go to school..." Freddie said with a raised eyebrow. 

"I'm saying that we can home school you if you would prefer." Crowley said with a shrug. 

"I'll think about it." Freddie said, going back to looking out the window. It took them a little while to get to the doctor's office and about an hour after that to be seen. 

"So, what seems to be the problem?" The doctor asked as he looked at Freddie. Freddie shifted on the exam bed a bit and then removed his sunglasses to reveal eyes that looked identical to his mother's.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Youngs have a scare and Crowley helps out.

Freddie tried to continue to attend school for a week after he got suspended but it was just too much. If he wasn't getting asked about the sunglasses, people were just outright staring. When the weekend came, he told his parents that he wanted to be home schooled. Evan asked if she could be home schooled as well and neither of them had a problem with it. Crowley called the school that Monday and let them know. Oscar would be the only one continuing in school. 

Aziraphale decided that their home education would not be without field trips so he took them into London for the day to visit a few museums. He'd called Oscar out for the day so that all three of the kids could go together. Crowley decided to stay home and work in the garden as well as getting some household chores taken care of. 

Shortly after lunch time she was startled by the sound of an ambulance coming down the lane. Under normal circumstances she would have ignored the siren but she noticed that the ambulance stopped right outside the Young's house. She dropped what she was doing, removing her gardening gloves and practically running down the lane. She hadn't even stopped to close the garden gate. 

"Deirdre? What's going on?" Crowley said as she approached. Deirdre was standing outside on the path. 

"It's Arthur. They say he's had a heart attack." Deirdre was on the verge of hysterics and Crowley didn't blame her. She put an arm around her friend's shoulders. 

"I'm sure he'll be just fine, dear. He's a fighter." Crowley forced a smile. Deep down she was very worried. 

"The doctor warned him. Told him to stop the pipe smoking. To cut back on the salt. But he didn't listen." Deirdre just watched as the paramedics loaded her husband into the ambulance. 

"You can yell at him once he's recovered, alright? For right now, you go with him." She motioned toward the ambulance. "I'll follow in the car." 

"Is that alright? Can I ride with him?" Deirdre asked and one of the paramedics nodded. She looked at Crowley. "Thank you." She said before climbing into the ambulance. Crowley just nodded and then ran back to her cottage to get her keys. On the way to the hospital she called Adam to let him know what was going on, then she called Aziraphale. 

"Is he alright?" Aziraphale asked. 

"If I have any say in the matter he will be." Crowley said as she drove the way she used to all those years ago before they got married. 

"Don't do anything rash, darling." Aziraphale warned. 

"I won't bring him back from the dead if that's what you mean." Crowley rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see it. 

"I didn't think you would." Aziraphale replied. "Call me when you're on your way home." 

"I will." Crowley sighed a little. "I love you, Zira." 

"I love you too, darling." Aziraphale replied before they ended the call. Crowley pulled up to the hospital and managed to find a parking space before going inside. 

"I'm looking for Arthur Young?" Crowley said to the nurse at reception. 

"Are you family?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"He's my brother-in-law." Crowley replied with quite a bit of snark. 

"He's in the ICU." The nurse replied. Crowley followed the signs and made her way to the ICU. It took some convincing but she managed to get the nurse on duty to let her into the room where Arthur was resting. 

"Deirdre....any news?" Crowley asked quietly as she walked into the room. 

"They don't know. They keep saying it's touch and go." Deirdre looked like she'd been crying for a while. "I overheard one of them say it'll be a miracle for him to make it through the night." 

"Miracles are my specialty, dear." Crowley gave her a quick smile. She walked over to the other side of the bed and took Arthur's left hand in hers. "He's going to be just fine." She smiled and snapped her fingers. 

"What do you mean?" Deirdre looked at Crowley, her eyes a bit wide as she watched. 

"I can't heal him immediately. It'll be too suspicious. Raise too many questions. But I can make sure that he does actually recover in a reasonable manor." Crowley replied with a grin before going back around to stand next to Deirdre. Deirdre got to her feet and pulled Crowley into a hug. 

"Thank you so much." She was practically sobbing again. Crowley just held onto her and smiled. 

"Anything for family, dear." Crowley nodded. She managed to convince Deirdre to get some rest in the waiting room while the miracle did what it was supposed to do. She sent a text to Aziraphale not to wait up, that she probably wouldn't be back until later the next day. 

The doctors seemed to be surprised that Arthur was recovering but they weren't shocked and definitely didn't use the word miracle which was what Crowley tried to avoid. After two weeks in the hospital, Arthur was allowed to go home. Crowley and Aziraphale took turns spending time with Deirdre at the hospital and Adam even came to visit for a few days with his family. 

"If you do not follow your doctor's orders to the letter from here on out I will personally make sure you highly regret it." Crowley said as they were helping Arthur into the house. 

"I'm not going to go through that again. Ever." Arthur nodded. He fully intended on listening to his doctor from then on. 

"Good. Because I don't want to do anything rash." Crowley smirked. 

"If you need anything at all, please feel free to let us know." Aziraphale said once they had Arthur settled on the couch in the living room. 

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Deirdre smiled. 

"Please, dear. You've done so much for us. Let us return the favor." Crowley smiled. 

"Alright. I'll be sure to let you know." Deirdre nodded. She noticed that Arthur had already drifted off to nap. "That man could sleep through anything." She chuckled. 

"Zira's the same way." Crowley grinned and Aziraphale just rolled his eyes. They both gave Deirdre a hug before leaving. Crowley took Aziraphale's hand as they walked back to their cottage. 

"One thing I am very glad about." She said softly. 

"What's that, darling?" Aziraphale brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back. 

"I never have to know exactly what Deirdre went through." Crowley looked at Aziraphale with a little bit of sadness in her eyes. Aziraphale slipped his arm around her shoulders. 

"I'm thankful for that as well." He kissed her cheek. They walked the rest of the way to the cottage in silence.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An argument ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize for the long delay in adding anything to this story. My job has sucked all of the life out of me and made it very difficult to be inspired to write. I'm hoping that this is the beginning of more inspiration to come.

In all of the sixteen years that Frederick Crowley-Fell had been alive, he'd never once seen his parents argue. He was sure they did, but they just didn't do it in front of the children. Though he never had actually heard them from another room, either. And it was very, very rare to see his father angry at all. He was the calm one, for certain. Freddie had gone down to the shops to get some milk because they were running low and he knew that Oscar would just leave the empty carton in the fridge again which would make their mother very not happy. 

"You arrogant.....pig headed.....cockwomble!" Crowley shouted before slamming the door that led to the garden. The glass door that miraculously never broke no matter how hard it was slammed. She was muttering to herself as she looked over the plants, trying to find something that she could take her anger out on. 

"Mum?" Freddie asked as he walked through the gate. "Everything okay?" 

Crowley had jumped a bit when she heard her son's voice. She'd actually forgotten he had gone to the shops. She took a deep breath and then put a smile on. 

"Of course, dear. Everything's fine. You should get that in the fridge right away." She pointed to the milk he was carrying. Freddie just nodded and did as he was told, taking the milk into the kitchen. He blinked a few times when he saw his father rather angrily rearranging books on the shelves in the living room. 

"Dad? You alright?" Freddie asked, standing back in the doorway. 

"Everything is lovely, my dear boy." Aziraphale said, though his tone was forced. Something was definitely going on. He just nodded and then went upstairs to find Oscar and Evan sitting in Oscar's bedroom. 

"What's going on with mum and dad?" Freddie asked. 

"They had a fight." Oscar said quietly. He was holding on to his favorite teddy bear as if his life depended on that connection. 

"Well, I've gathered that much." Freddie rolled his eyes and went to sit next to his sister. "What was the fight about?" 

"I want to keep going to school but dad thinks it's a bad idea. Mum says it's my decision but dad says I'm not old enough to decide." Oscar said quietly. He appeared to be on the verge of tears the whole time he was talking. 

"Why wouldn't you be able to keep going to school?" Freddie tilted his head. Something had definitely happened while he was at the shops. He hadn't been gone that long. 

"Show him, Oscar." Evan said, reaching a hand out to take the teddy bear from her little brother. Oscar nodded and handed over the bear. He moved to the center of the room, plenty of empty space around him, and then shrugged his shoulders. Two beautiful white wings appeared from his back, looking almost iridescent in the light of the room.

"Oscar, that's brilliant! You've got wings. And way earlier than expected." Freddie grinned. His little brother was only nine after all. 

"It's not brilliant!" Oscar shrugged his shoulders again and the wings disappeared. "I can't go to school now and mum and dad are fighting and it's all my fault!" Rather than trying to get the bear back from Evan, Oscar simply crawled under the bed. 

"Oscar, come on. It is brilliant. And just because dad says he doesn't want you going to school doesn't mean you won't be able to. You can hide the wings, yeah?" Freddie lay down on the floor to try to look under the bed. 

"Only sometimes." Oscar muttered. 

"We found out about the wings because he got upset this morning and they just sort of popped out." Evan said, sighing a little bit. "It's going to take a lot of practice for him to control them all the time. Right now they have a bit of a mind of their own." 

"Oscar, will you please come out of there?" Freddie asked, moving back a little bit to give him room. He got to his feet and waited as Oscar crawled out from under the bed and looked up at his big brother. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise." He leaned down and kissed Oscar's forehead. 

"But mum and dad are fighting." Oscar bit his lip. "Are they going to get a divorce?" 

"Oh Oscar." Freddie pulled his little brother into a hug. "I promise you, mum and dad are not going to get a divorce." He sighed. The thought had crossed his mind very briefly. "Can I ask you something, though?" 

"Okay." Oscar nodded. 

"Would it be such a bad thing to be home schooled with us?" Freddie tilted his head as he looked down at Oscar. He'd taken off his sunglasses as soon as he got in the house. Oscar looked up at Freddie. 

"Your friends don't come around anymore." He said matter of factly. "When you were in school, you had lots of friends and now it's just you and Evan and maybe someone will come by sometimes but mostly, they leave you alone." 

"I have a feeling your friends are going to be very different." Freddie nodded. "But I'll talk to mum and dad and see what I can do about keeping you in school, okay?" 

"Okay." Oscar nodded and then went back over to Evan to get his teddy bear. He sat down on the floor and hugged the bear to his chest. Evan looked at Freddie and simply mouthed "fix this." Freddie nodded and headed back downstairs. 

"What have I told you about weeds?!" Crowley practically growled as she pulled a weed from her garden. There were plants that had been there before he walked into the house that had been pulled up and were sitting in a pile. One of them had a leaf spot. One had a misshapen flower. 

"Mum, can we talk?" Freddie asked from just outside the back door. Crowley pulled another weed and Freddie watched as she composed herself before getting to her feet and turning to smile at her son. 

"Of course, dear. What is it?" 

"You don't have to pretend with me, mum. I know you're angry with dad. I saw the fight....sort of." Freddie ran his fingers through his hair. Crowley's shoulders slumped slightly. 

"I'm sorry you had to see that, darling. We've tried so hard not to let you see our arguments." Crowley slipped off her gardening gloves and moved some hair behind her ear. 

"You and dad need to work this out. Oscar is convinced you're getting a divorce and that it's because of him." Freddie crossed his arms. 

"Oh that poor boy." Crowley sighed and closed her eyes briefly. "Your father and I have had worse fights than this and we're still together. Once we didn't talk for an entire century." She smiled at the memory. It seemed so stupid now. 

"Yes, well. You two need to sort this and you need to assure Oscar that you are not, in fact, separating because he's terrified that he's ruined everything." Freddie sighed. Oscar hadn't said it in so many words but Freddie could tell. 

"I just needed to get some of the anger out of my system. I'm sure it's fine." Crowley said with a shrug. 

"Dad is currently rearranging the books in the living room alphabetically by author." Freddie raised an eyebrow. Crowley's eyes went wide. 

"He's...he's actually putting them in a recognizable order?" She scratched the back of her neck. 

"Yes." Freddie nodded. 

"Oh dear." Crowley sighed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out some money, handing it to Freddie. She wasn't sure how much but it didn't matter. "Get your siblings and go to a movie or something. Just.....I need to talk to your father alone." 

"Of course." Freddie nodded. He took the money and then went upstairs. It didn't take him long to get Evan and Oscar out of the house, especially with the promise of ice cream. The teddy bear came along without any argument.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Making up.

Crowley waited until she was sure the children were gone before she cleared her throat and headed into the house. As Freddie had said, Aziraphale was in the living room rearranging the books. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before stepping fully into the living room and clearing her throat again. 

"I'm not talking to you right now." Aziraphale said as he angrily put a book on the shelf. It was taking a lot longer to get them in alphabetical order than he originally expected. 

"I'm sorry." Crowley took her sunglasses off and put them in her pocket. She put her hands in front of her, fingers laced together. 

"What was that?" Aziraphale asked, continuing to rearrange the books. 

"Aziraphale, I'm sorry." Crowley said again. 

"And what exactly are you apologizing for, Crowley?" Aziraphale stopped what he was doing though he still didn't look at his wife. 

"For being completely unreasonable, for refusing to listen to your opinion, and for calling you a an arrogant pig-headed cockwomble." Crowley replied, making sure to speak clearly and calmly. Aziraphale sighed a little and finally turned to look at Crowley. 

"You weren't completely unreasonable." He said softly. "And you weren't the only one that wasn't listening." He walked over to stand in front of Crowley, reaching over to take her hands in his. 

"You know, I think in the entire ridiculous amount of time that we've known each other you've never actually called me any kind of names." Crowley tilted her head. "You just occasionally reminded me that I'm a demon and that's it. And I've gone and called you all kinds of things....." She trailed off. 

"You haven't called me all kinds of things, my love. You've only called me stupid once and then today. That's not really all kinds of things." He brought her hands up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. 

"Well, there were a few things that never got said out loud." Crowley said with a little bit of a blush. 

"Those don't count and you know it." Aziraphale said with a soft chuckle. "It usually takes you quite a bit longer to apologize and you rarely actually come out and say the words." He pointed out. "What brought this on?" 

"Our children." Crowley said, looking Aziraphale in the eye. "Apparently our fight has little Oscar convinced that we're getting a divorce." 

"Oh that poor boy." Aziraphale shook his head. "We'll have to do something about that." 

"I think that the first thing we need to do is let him decide whether or not he's going to continue to go to school. We can teach him how to get his wings under control." Crowley just watched Aziraphale's reaction. Aziraphale took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 

"How about a compromise?" He smiled. "They have a break coming up in a few days. We can take him out now temporarily, use the break to teach him and then he can go back to school when the break is over like nothing happened. We can just tell the school he's got a cold or something simple." 

"You know, I think that might actually work." Crowley smiled. "We'll run that past him when they get back home." 

"Back home?" Aziraphale raised an eyebrow. 

"I gave the kids some money and sent them to the shops or the movies or whatever. Told them to be gone for a while so you and I can work this out." Crowley's smiled turned into a bit of a smirk. 

"So what I'm hearing you say is that we have the entire house to ourselves for at least an hour?" Aziraphale's expression changed a bit as well. 

"That is exactly what I'm saying." Crowley moved in a bit closer to Aziraphale and draped her arms over his shoulders. Aziraphale's hands immediately went to her hips. 

"So we have an opportunity to properly make up then." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and Crowley laughed softly. 

"My thoughts exactly, my love." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Rather than either of them actually moving, Aziraphale just snapped his fingers and miracled them into their bedroom.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something unexpected happens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This does deal with a character death but I don't know that I would call it a major character. There's also some not handling death in the best way but it's not exactly a bad way either.

Even though Oscar was old enough to walk to and from school by himself he rarely did. After eating breakfast and making sure that he had all of his things, he would kiss his mother on the cheek and then head off down the lane. Every morning he would stop in to see his Auntie Deirdre and the two of them would walk the rest of the way to school together. He was very happy that he didn't have to hide anything from her. Though he was only eleven, he felt very fortunate to have someone he could talk to about things that wasn't either his parents or his siblings. Deidre would always freely give both advice and hugs. 

On this particular morning, Oscar knew that Deidre would be home alone. Uncle Arthur had gone on a fishing trip with Adam and a couple of other guys they knew. A man's weekend, he'd called it. Oscar thought it was ridiculous but he figured it was just a grown up thing. When Oscar got to number 4 Hogback Lane, he knocked on the door and was surprised to not get an answer. He knew that Auntie Deirdre was home. She always left him a little note on the gate if she was going to be out when he headed to school. 

"Auntie Deirdre?" Oscar called as he knocked again. Maybe she just couldn't hear him over the radio or something. That had to be it. He actually started to get a little worried when he still received no answer. He pulled his phone out of his backpack, even though he wasn't supposed to have it with him, and dialed Deirdre's number. It always made him giggle that it had 666 in it. He could hear the phone ringing in the house but there was still no answer. Something was definitely wrong. Oscar hung up the phone and put it away, then went back to the cottage to get his mother. 

"Oscar, darling, aren't you supposed to be at school?" Crowley asked as she was cleaning up the kitchen. Aziraphale was in his library and Freddie and Evan were upstairs starting on their school work. 

"Auntie Deirdre didn't answer the door." Oscar said quietly. Crowley stopped what she was doing and looked up. 

"And you're sure she's home?" She raised an eyebrow. 

"Yeah. She always leaves a note if she's gone before I get there." Oscar started to pick at his fingers. It was obvious to Crowley that her son was very worried. Crowley went over to the doorway to the library. 

"Zira, darling. I need to run to Deirdre's for a moment. Would you be so kind as to call the school and let them know Oscar won't be coming in today?" She knew there was no way he'd be able to concentrate until he knew what was going on. 

"Is everything alright, dear?" Aziraphale looked up from his book. 

"That's what I'm going to find out." Crowley said a little quietly. Aziraphale nodded and then went to the phone to call the school. Crowley went back over to her son. "Oscar, dear. You stay here with your father while I go check on Auntie Deirdre, okay?" She gave him a little kiss on the forehead and he nodded. After Oscar was settled into the library, Crowley made her way down the lane. 

"Deirdre, dear. It's me Ana? Are you in there?" Crowley asked as she knocked on the door. She pulled the spare key she had in case of emergencies out of her pocket and unlocked the door, slowly making her way into the house. "Deirdre?" Crowley asked, looking around as she went. She made it all the way up to Deirdre and Arthur's bedroom before finding her friend. 

"Please just be asleep." Crowley said softly, closing her eyes for a brief moment before moving over to the side of the bed. It was just as she feared. Deirdre looked like she was sleeping but her color wasn't quite right and she was cold to the touch. Crowley wasn't sure how long she'd been gone but it was long enough that there was nothing she could do about it. She picked up the phone by the bed and dialed 999, texting Aziraphale as she spoke to the operator. 

"Do you have a number for the next of kin?" One of the paramedics asked as they were taking Deirdre away. "We'll need to contact them." 

"If it's alright, I'd like to do it. I think it'll be better coming from me." Crowley's eyes never left the gurney as it was taken out of the house. The paramedic just nodded and left. Crowley took a deep breath and let it out slowly before locking up the house and going back home. She didn't know if she'd actually be able to handle making that phone call. 

"Are the doctors going to fix her?" Oscar asked expectantly as Crowley came back into the house. She let out a breath and then took Oscar's hand, leading him over to the couch and sitting down. 

"I'm sorry, Oscar. Auntie Deirdre isn't going to get better. I'm afraid she's gone." She cleared her throat. It was hard to keep from getting emotional. 

"What do you mean, gone?" Oscar tilted his head. 

"Auntie Deirdre...." Crowley started. She wasn't sure exactly how to put it. 

"What your mother is trying to say...." Aziraphale said as he came into the room. "Is that Auntie Deirdre has gone to Heaven." He moved over and put a hand on Crowley's shoulder. 

"Oh." Oscar said softly, then looked at his father expectantly. "That means that you can go check on her, right? Make sure that she's okay?" 

"I...well..." Aziraphale really hadn't been expecting that reaction at all. 

"And since I'm part angel, does that mean I can too? Can I go to Heaven and see her?" He was getting hopeful. There was a slight advantage to not being a human. 

"That, my dear, isn't possible." Crowley took Oscar's hand. "Because you're only part angel, you can't go up there." That much she'd looked into. 

"But papa can." Oscar nodded, looking at Aziraphale again. "You can go and see her. And give her messages for me." He grinned. 

"I..." Aziraphale was completely baffled. He'd never actually looked into how the whole soul in Heaven thing actually worked. It wasn't part of his job, after all. 

"Please?" Oscar gave him what could only be described as a puppy dog look. 

"I can't promise anything, Oscar. I can only check into it." Aziraphale nodded. Oscar got up and grinned. 

"I'm gonna write her a letter." He then ran to his room to get started. Aziraphale slumped onto the couch next to Crowley. 

"I'm not really sure that's how all of this works." Aziraphale looked at Crowley. Crowley took Aziraphale's hands in hers and squeezed them gently. 

"If this helps him cope with her death then we'll find a way to make it work." She sounded determined. Even if she had to write Oscar letters pretending to be Deirdre, she would do it just to help her son. Aziraphale nodded. It did seem to help Oscar quite a bit. "I still need to tell Arthur and Adam." 

"Any luck getting a hold of them?" Aziraphale asked. 

"No. There's apparently no signal where they are. I'm going to actually go track them down. Shouldn't be too hard to locate Adam." Crowley had noticed that since the almost end of the world, she'd actually been able to sort of sense Adam's location, though not precisely. It was more of a general area that got her close enough to narrow down the search. 

"I'll get started on dinner." Aziraphale gave Crowley a quick kiss before getting to his feet. 

"Aziraphale?" Crowley said as she watched him walk toward the kitchen. 

"Yes, dear?" Aziraphale turned and gave her a little smile. 

"I love you." Crowley said quietly. She'd felt the sudden urge to make sure that he absolutely knew how she felt. Aziraphale softened a little bit. 

"I love you, too, my dear." He walked over and gave her a tender kiss on the lips, lingering for just a moment before heading to the kitchen again. He had a feeling they'd be saying it to each other a little more often from then on. Crowley relaxed a little bit. Now she just had to go find Adam. She wasn't looking forward to it one bit.


End file.
